Psychotherapy in light of internal multiplicity.

The view that the self has multiple parts and that these appear in people seeking psychotherapy--and people conducting psychotherapy--is shared by clinicians of various orientations and supported by psychological research. It is useful for clinicians to think of patients as multifaceted and pay attention to the changes between facets that occur during therapy. They can thus help hidden parts to surface, facilitate dialogue between parts not in contact with each other, and convince excessively dominant or oppressive parts to make room for other adaptive facets. The authors contributing to this issue of Journal of Clinical Psychology: In Session describe, from their different theoretical perspectives, how they deal with patients' and therapists' inner multiplicity in clinical practice.