ABSTRACT
Historically, counselling and psychotherapy have been primarily understood as applied disciplines with their roots in psychology. The concept of design has a special resonance and relevance for pluralistic therapy. Brown (2009) points out that the product that emerges from a design process can not only be a physical object, such as an iPhone, but can also take the form of a service, such as patient-centred health care, or a virtual space such as a website. Pluralistic therapy can be seen as a process of both designing a therapy experience and re-designing some aspect of the client's life. The client and therapist each have different, but equally vital roles to play in the design process. The use of cultural resources is a distinctive and significant aspect of pluralistic practice. Pluralistic therapy aims to assist the client to re-design or re-build their personal niche so that it works better and, ideally, so that it is more pleasing.
