I have referred to myself as a pluralistic therapist for a while now. But what does that mean? And how does that apply to therapy, to politics, and to mental and general health?

What is pluralism?

In simple terms, pluralism is the state of several different ways of being peacefully coexisting. It is a term that is often used in political philosophy, but is used by a range of different people and fields to describe how different ways of thinking, being, and doing can exist side-by-side without one of them being seen as the one correct way of doing things.

Pluralistic psychotherapy

Respected counselling and psychotherapy researchers Mick Cooper and John McCleod started to develop the field of pluralistic therapy practice in the early 2000s. They wanted to make space for the value that many different ways of approaching therapy brings to people looking for help and support and counteract the dogma and divisions between different approaches that defensively held their own way to be the most appropriate way to do therapy.

I consider my own therapy practice to be pluralistic in two ways: I will change the way that I work with different people based on what they believe they will find helpful; and I will help someone find a different therapist if what they need isn’t what I offer.

Pluralism doesn’t mean that all ways of offering therapy are equally good: conversion practices are still bad and therapists can still behave in unethical ways towards their clients. What it does mean is that within the scope of what is safe, potentially effective, and ethically sound there is a world of things from which people might benefit.

Pluralistic politics

This is another area in which pluralism does not mean that any type of political perspective or action is just as good as any other. Authoritarian politics that seeks to reinforce power imbalances or oppress people based on their identity characteristics or economic state are not what I would consider good politics.

However, there different approaches to achieving the same goals. Pluralism of approaches or tactics is very common in grassroots organising. While some people choose to organise protests, create petitions, and lobby elected officials, others might choose to create affinity groups, participate in direct action, or focus on supporting others in their community.

Much frustration in online political discussion seems to arise from feeling like other people are focusing on the wrong things. Electoral politics is stupid, some may say. Nothing ever changes! But not voting is wasting your chance to have a say, someone might counter. Damage to property or interruption of services is giving us all a bad name, say others, while someone else may tell you that signing petitions or writing to your MP/MSP/MS is a waste of time and energy.

Pluralism says that there is room for all of these things, and if it isn’t your way then that’s okay. You can focus on what you feel is effective and let others choose their own path. My own focus is on choosing a range of things that are local and immediate to help me see that the things I do make a difference, combined with longer-term approaches like donating to legal costs to campaigns for change at a national level where there is unlikely to be visible progress for months or years but when it comes, it will be significant.

There are benefits and potential drawbacks to any way of making your voice heard on things that matter to you. Choosing what is right for you, and changing your idea of what is right when your circumstances change, allows space for people to do what they feel is manageable and beneficial based on their individual preferences and goals.

Pluralism in mental and physical health

In a way, this links back to what I said at the top about therapy. Different strategies for maintaining mental and physical health and well-being will work for different people and are likely to change over time.

As well as different people having different approaches, having a multitude of tactics that you can use to feel as mentally and physically well as you can given your current circumstances and what is available to you gives you much more chance of managing in difficult times.

My own practices are broad. I walk outside with my dog every day and take the time to look at the changes in my local neighbourhood and the natural world around me. I practice grounding exercises and mindfulness every day, partly to keep me grounded and mindful and partly so that I find it easy to use them if things feel stressful or difficult. I have reminders to take my medications and make sure I eat regularly and drink plenty. I keep in touch with friends, loved ones, and the supportive community around me. I do things where I can see the difference I’m making in my little corner of the world, like watering my plants and watching them grow.

What does this mean for me?

Everyone’s circumstances will be different. The things that you can or want to do will differ from the people around you or even change from day to day or week to week.

Choose your political or organising activities to give you a range of things you can do given your energy and emotional bandwidth. Ideally, do things that play to your skills and allow you to contribute without too much drain. Include things that will give you a sense of gratification. There’s nothing that kills motivation like feeling as though you’re getting nowhere.

Choosing some health and well-being practices can help with staying relatively sane and healthy. These will be different for everyone. Maybe you could take a few moments to list the things you do that help you feel calm, safe, grounded, contented, joyful, or just okay enough to get through the day? It’s a start towards keeping on going through difficult times.