So she was an integrative therapist, the type of therapists that the research indicates has the best outcomes. Trauma has a way of impairing what is known as "locus of control." My approach is to allow clients to select the type of therapy they want to be involved with in a collaborative fashion that is based on the best available evidence base. We use an outcome based, deliberate approach where we use a feedback informed instrument in every session were Tx progress is assessed from the client's subjective experience not imposed on them from an external source, keeping in mind the a general goal of therapy is to assist in the restoration of an internal locus of control and internal locus of evaluation so that they are the ones making meaning- it is not interpreted by a therapist, We do everything possible to allow the client to feel in control of the therapy process as a metaphor for gaining increased control over their lives.
Our therapists are cross-trained in a variety of approaches, cognitive, behavioral, affective (emotional), somatic and spiritual. All of the therapies, per se, are experiential. There are also psychoeducational and didactic components that clients can participate in. The client, not the therapist, decides when to change the treatment approach based on the session-to-session assessments guided by the client.
We are not interested in promoting one approach over another. The research (which as licensed professionals, we are obliged to follow) indicates that there is no statistical difference in one approach over another, that relational aspects are more important than treatment approach, that retention in therapy is based on collaborative relationships with clients, that clients need to experience movement in therapy or what is more commonly known as therapy progress, and that offering an array of services (resources for basic needs, medical care, child care, etc.) is more important that the treatment approach. I would add cultural sensitivity to that list. We use the best research and scientific models for our treatment. We are obliged to do so under our accreditation and funding sources. A personal anecdote from a third party source is not science or evidence based. EMDR is an evidence based treatment and all our staff are trained in that approach by EMDRIA approved trainers. Our clinicians are also trained in one of the following:
https://www.scottdmiller.com/fit-software-tools/
https://fs.blog/2012/07/what-is-deliberate-practice/
I'm glad your experience indicated that the clinicians in your agency were flexible enough to try a different approach when the client was not making progress. That integrative style is exactly what we espouse. Thank you for reinforcing that with your example. it's much better in the interest of client outcomes for the therapist to be trained in a number of approaches instead of calling the client "resistant" to the therapist's inflexibility.