Developmental Eclecticism  Developmental Eclecticism or Systematic Eclecticism was founded by Gerard Egan in the 1970s. This approach, which is also referred to as the "Skilled Helper" model, is founded on the eclectic framework oriented toward problem management approach in the area of counselling and psychotherapy. Egan's eclectic model was developed amid the shift in the field of counselling and psychotherapy from the adherence to the "pure" schools of therapy and the search for the most effective approach to the embrace and integration of all mainstream approaches that appear to be universally effective. It is also influenced by the works of Carl Rogers and Robert Carkhuff, particularly these authors' theories on person-centered values and principles. Egan introduced his approach through the book "The Skilled Helper", which was published in 1975. In this book, Egan explained that eclecticism is successful because it allows clients to: 1) identify and explore problems and opportunities; 2) determine their needs and wants; 3) discover for themselves how to obtain them; and, 4) act based on what they learned. Egan's eclectic model was first proposed as a humanistic framework but it increasingly adopted a more action-oriented form of therapy later on. Egan likened the model to the browser in the sense that, like this Internet tool, it can be used to mine, organize, and evaluate concepts and techniques that work for clients regardless of their background. Its eclectic orientation also means that the framework makes of techniques regardless of their theoretical origin. The developmental eclecticism process involves three stages, which are Exploration, Understanding, and Action and each of these entails a set of associated skills. The first stage is focused on the client as the therapist attempts to build a rapport, understanding his experiences and his goal in the process if successful. Understanding or the interpretation stage requires the therapist to formulate the problem using techniques such as psychodynamic and cognitive approaches. Finally, the Action stage uses behavioral strategies (e.g. homework assignments). Egan's three stages were later renamed as Present Scenario, Preferred Scenario, and Getting There.