ABSTRACT
Stanley B. Messer introduced the term assimilative integration in 1992 (see Messer, 2001) to describe the gradual process of assimilating new techniques and ideas from other approaches into one's own original approach to the work, which seems an inevitable part of the development of most psychotherapists. The rationale behind assimilation assumes that when techniques and concepts are imported into one's main theoretical framework, then their meaning interacts with the `host' and both are mutually transformed and shaped into a new product. The aim of assimilative integration is to retain the original theory whilst incorporating both empirical interventions and theoretical concepts that will enrich the therapist's original approach whilst keeping the approach theoretically and clinically relevant.
