The Magic of Creative Responding

Creative responding is at the heart of pluralistic practice – the work with each client is unique, and at its best happens in response to that client, with that therapist at that time. This is where the magic lies – in the creative therapeutic process.

But what does creative responding look like in practice?

Creativity involves creating something unique Creative responding might involve creative materials, but it might not It involves trying new things, not knowing, and learning by doing as we co-create an individualised therapy with each client. It can involve risk. But in today’s climate of regulation and competences therapists can feel restricted and unsure in their practice.

This session will be informal and will invite open discussion on the potential implications of creative responding for pluralistic practice. The panel will share some of our practice experiences and will invite participants to discuss and explore questions such as ‘what does creative responding look like in practice’, ‘how can I be more creative’, and ‘what gets in the way of creative responding’.

Responding to Socio-political Goals and Tasks Identified by Clients in Pluralistic Therapy

John McLeod is Visiting Professor of Counselling at the Institute for Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy, Dublin, and Emeritus Professor, Abertay University. He has been closely involved in the development of pluralistic therapy, as well as publishing widely on a wide range of aspects of counselling and psychotherapy research and practice. He lives in Dundee, Scotland.

Christine Kupfer is a lecturer in Counselling & Psychotherapy at the University of Abertay, Scotland, and works as a pluralistic therapist (MBACP) Her background and degrees (Masters, PhD) are in counselling, social and medical anthropology, education sciences, and psychology. Her research projects include a study on children’s mental health in India, a citizen science project on depression, ethnographic work with Ayurveda patients to understand their conceptualisations of health and healing, research on Rabindranath Tagore, and an ongoing project on the “Dark Side of Meditation”. She has published a monograph and many articles and is currently co-authoring a book titled Pluralistic Therapy: 100 Key Points and Techniques