Integrative Strategic Psychotherapy

Volume 1 – Theoretical Foundations of Integrative Strategic Psychotherapy

Volume 1 lays the conceptual and epistemological groundwork of the Integrative Strategic Model of Psychotherapy. It introduces the model of the Self as a central organising framework for understanding human functioning and psychopathology. The Self is conceptualised across multiple layers—proto-self, core self, plastic self, and external self—each representing distinct but interrelated dimensions of psychological organisation, from implicit bodily-affective patterns to conscious narratives and behaviours.

A key innovation of this volume is the articulation of psychological levels (biological, psychological, relational) and axes (cognitive, emotional, psychodynamic) as intersecting dimensions of case conceptualisation. This multilevel, multiaxial approach offers clinicians a refined map for understanding how symptoms, relational patterns, and internal processes co-emerge and interact.

Volume 1 also situates the ISP model within contemporary developments in neuroscience, attachment theory, and developmental psychology, demonstrating how early relational experiences, implicit memory systems, and affect regulation shape the architecture of the Self. The volume establishes a rigorous theoretical foundation that informs all subsequent volumes of the series.