Multimodal Therapy

Multimodal Therapy Multimodal therapy—a branch of behavior therapy—is a

comprehensive, systematic, holistic approach to behavior therapy developed by Arnold Lazarus. Grounding his practice on social learning theory, Lazarus endorses drawing techniques from just about all of the therapy models. In his integrative model, new techniques are constantly being introduced and existing techniques are refined, but they are never used in a shotgun manner.

By using the multimodal approach, practitioners can function actively and directively by providing information and instruction. This requires a constant adjustment of therapeutic techniques to achieve the client’s goals in therapy. The question of paramount importance is, “What is best for this particular person?” Practitioners need to make a careful attempt to determine precisely what relationship and what treatment strategies will work best with each client and under which particular circumstances. The underlying assumption of this approach is that because individuals are troubled by a variety of specific problems, it is appropriate that both a multitude of treatment strategies and different therapeutic styles are used in bringing about change. Therapeutic flexibility and versatility, along with breadth over depth, are valued highly in the multimodal orientation.