The McCluskey model of psychotherapy

The McCluskey Model represents a really useful and exciting way of using attachment theory to explore 7 areas of your life that directly impact on the way you feel, think and act. 

Counselling based on the McCluskey Model and its underlying theory is called Exploratory Goal-Corrected Psychotherapy (EGCP) and has been developed by York-based Dr Una McCluskey and her colleagues.  Building on the work of the great attachment theorist John Bowlby, they have identified 7 instinctive biological systems in human adults that work together to support our wellbeing.  

The better these systems are working in our lives, together and separately, the more able we are to feel good about ourselves, form healthy relationships, and live our lives according to our values. 

The 7 systems are:

• 1. Care seeking - how we ask for support and how we decide who to ask

  2. Care giving - who we look after and whether the balance of care giving and care seeking in our life is about right

  3. Interest sharing - what interests we have, and who we share them with

  4. Sexuality - how we express the sexual part of ourselves

  5. Self defence - how we look after ourselves when we feel threatened, and whether the ways we choose help us or harm us

  6. The internal environment - "what goes on inside us" in terms of what we think of ourselves and the world

  7. The external environment - how we shape and enjoy the home, garden, office etc that we spend a lot of time in

Since I trained in EGCP with Una in 2016-17, I have tended to use elements of EGCP with all my clients and supervisees.  However, if you are especially interested in working in this way, please ask for a block of 9 sessions.  After an introductory session, we can take one session to explore each of these 7 systems in turn, identifying how well they function in your own life, and highlighting where you might like to make some changes.  A final session will enable us to review and summarise our work.

A longer description of the 7 systems and how they might be explored in counselling can be found in this article by two of my colleagues.  Information about Una and her events and academic research can be found here.