Among the many forms of psychotherapy mental health professionals practice, eclecticism has become the center of renewed interest. In a national survey, we identified the theoretical orientations of 423 mental health professionals. A majority of psychotherapists use an eclectic form of therapy. Our results are compared with other surveys in a review of 25 studies of psychotherapists, and differences between the surveys are discussed. We further examine eclecticism by analyzing its individual components; psychodynamic theory is apparently the most influential viewpoint. We also examine the differences between eclectics in 4 professional subgroups (psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and marriage and family therapists). Differences are noted in the content of the eclectic psychotherapy in each subgroup. Implications for practice and research are discussed.Contemporary mental health professionals are hard pressed to identify a dominant force in psychotherapy. Smith's (1982) national survey supported the notion that no single approach is ascendant in the field. Eclecticism, on the other hand, appears to have become more popular and recently, under the revised label integration, has become the focus of a new professional organization (Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration) and a new journal (Journal of 'Integrative and Eclectic Psychotherapy). This form of therapy has served as an alternative to strict adherence to one theoretical perspective. Clinicians may choose this alternative because they are not comfortable within the confines of a single theoretical metaphor and find more utility in a flexible approach. Garfield and Kurtz (1977) found that many eclectic psychotherapists simply felt that no single theory could adequately explain all psychopathology.Although the popularity of eclecticism has varied over the years, it has always generated a great deal of interest and debate. At one time, eclectic therapy was assumed to be a product of inexperience. When Wildman and Wildman (1967) found that eclecticism was the most popular form of therapy among clinical psychologists, they felt that its popularity "indicates that psychologists have not yet succeeded in formulating a single JAY P. JENSEN received his PhD in clinical psychology from Brigham "Young University (BYU) in 1986 and is currently in private practice in Orem, Utah.

This article provides an overview of and initial empirical findings from a preventive clinical/educational model for psychosocial assessment and intervention with the families of Operation Desert Storm (ODS) veterans. Interview and questionnaire data were obtained (a) 2–6 months after demobilization from ODS from veteran/veteran or veteran/civilian spouse couples who received conjoint time‐limited therapy and veterans from the same Reserve and National Guard Units who received one‐to‐one time‐limited therapy and (b) 12–15 months after demobilization from veterans deployed during ODS with the same military units. Principal findings are as follows: (1) the trauma and strain of war‐zone military service, family separation, and subsequent family and community readjustment take a toll on a significant minority of ODS veterans and their families that is directly related to the stress symptomatology experienced by the veteran; and (2) with timely psychosocial intervention—based on life‐span developmental and self‐psychology, family systems theory, and a communitarian social integration model—veterans and families in distress are able to substantially resolve symptoms of psychosocial malfunctioning and even begin to accrue personal and systemic benefits from their ODS stressor experiences.

We describe a quasi-experimental trial of time-limited family therapy with veterans and families of veterans who served in Europe, outside the war zone, during Operation Desert Storm (ODS). Family systems therapy was provided both to individuals and conjointly to couples or families during the acute postwar readjustment period. The intervention adapted strategies from structural, strategic, intergenerational, and behavioral family therapies in a brief-treatment protocol for systemic stressor resolution. Veterans given family system therapy were able to resume functional levels of psychosocial adjustment and reduce the risk of long-term (chronic or delayed) psychosocial impairment. Based on these preliminary findings, controlled evaluation of family systems therapy appears warranted for individuals and families exposed to subtraumatic stressors such as wartime non-war-zone military deployment.

Results from this pilot study suggest that a customized CBT for patients with both chronic pain and SUD (CBT-cp.sud) may be beneficial in improving important pain and addiction-related outcomes in patients with HCV. Larger scale investigations of this intervention appear warranted.