What is the End Point of Psychotherapy Integration? A Commentary

Abstract

This commentary on six papers about assimilative integration considers the place assimilative integration, as defined by Messer, ought to have in the discussion on psychotherapy integration. After briefly summarizing the contribution of each paper, with particular attention to whether the paper takes a position on the end point of psychotherapy integration, the author compares the relative benefits of assimilative integration to those of a unified grand theory. He argues that assimilative integration, as an end point, is preferable to a unified grand theory because it has a more generative influence on both theory evolution and clinical practice.