The most influential and important integrative approach that is representative of technical eclecticism is multimodal therapy, described by Arnold Lazarus in 1992. It was derived from his experiences as a behavior therapist, and his follow-up studies of patients who relapsed after seemingly successful behavioral treatment.

He found that most behavioral problems had extensive psychological and social causes and correlates. Seeking to expand the range of his ability to work in a more “broad spectrum” way, Lazarus arrived at a multimodal, or broad-based, eclectic therapy.


Multimodal therapy is organized around an extensive assessment of the patient’s strengths, excesses, liabilities, and problem behaviors. Upon completion of this assessment, that patient’s clinically significant issues are organized within a framework that follows the acronym of the BASIC ID: Behavior, Affect, Sensation, Imagery, Cognition, Interpersonal relations, and Drugs (or biology).

As the firing order or causal sequence of variables in the BASIC ID is identified, interventions are selected and are implemented. More microscopic BASIC ID profiles of discrete or difficult problems and of components of a firing order can be attempted once the initial, global assessment and interventions are completed.

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Sources:
Encyclopedia of Psychotherapy_Michel Hersen, William Sledge