ABSTRACT
The notion of collaboration is also widely discussed in the therapy literature as a whole (Lambert and Cattani, 2012), for example in relation to the idea of collaborative empiricism in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or as an aspect of the therapeutic alliance (Tryon and Winograd, 2011). A pluralistic understanding of collaboration builds on these existing perspectives, but takes them further. Collaboration in pluralistic therapy comprises a set of key elements: turn-taking, sensitivity to language, putting difference to work and responsiveness. Turn-taking is important because it establishes a rhythm and structure to therapy conversation that makes it possible for each participant to have openings where they can contribute their ideas, and also times when they can be receptive to the ideas of the other person. In pluralistic therapy, the concept of collaboration is used to refer to the routine and pragmatic effort to listen, to acknowledge the ideas of the other person and to arrive at a plan of action.
