Searching for integration in counselling practice

The search for integration in counselling practice is addressed. It is argued that this necessarily involves a process of dialectical thinking, brought to bear in reconciling different visions of reality encapsulated within divergent therapeutic traditions. A model is offered of integration based upon the superordinate concept of 'the vicious circle' derived from an ironic world-view. The model is heated in Wachtel's theory of cyclical psychodynamics and Bowlby's attachment theory. An illustrative case-study is provided.