Developed by: George Kelly, Michael Mahoney, Vittorio Guidano, Donald Meichenbaum, Donald Spence, Bruce Ecker, Laurel Hulley, Leslie Greenberg, Harlene Anderson, Harry Goolishian, Michael White, David Epston
Overview: "As a philosophical position that emphasizes both personal and social processes of meaning-making, constructivism has influenced several contemporary traditions of psychotherapy. For this reason it is more accurate to consider constructivism as a general approach to understanding people, conceptualizing psychological distress, and fostering human change than to view it as a distinctive “school” of psychotherapy associated with a particular theorist, preferred method, or specific set of problems requiring treatment. Thus, constructivism is best viewed as a “meta-theory” that encompasses many late 20th century developments in clinical theories as diverse as psychoanalysis, existential-humanistic psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and family systems approaches. In addition, a number of novel psychotherapies have been devised along avowedly constructivist lines, from personal construct theory, which was formally set forth in the 1950s, to narrative therapy approaches that have become prominent only in the last 10 to 15 years. Appreciating the contributions of these diverse models therefore requires a consideration of their core philosophic similarities and the range of concepts and strategies that shape their expression at the level of clinical practice." ~ Excerpt from The Internet Encyclopedia of Personal Construct Psychology
"Constructivism is a philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in. Each of us generates our own "rules" and "mental models," which we use to make sense of our experiences. Learning, therefore, is simply the process of adjusting our mental models to accommodate new experiences. Constructivist psychotherapy focuses on the way people make sense of events that occur in their life. Although many things can take place in the course of one's lifetime, how that person construes each event is totally unique and events can elicit different responses and actions in different people." ~ Excerpt from Funderstanding
"A therapist who takes the constructivist approach understands that a client's story is more than an objective account of a person's experience: that story also acts to create, sustain or alter the ways in which a client understands and relates to their life circumstances. The way in which an individual interprets an event in their life and the effect that this interpretation has on future actions and events is of interest to the constructivist therapist.
Using this approach, the therapist will invite the client to make sense of events that have occurred by asking them to address the way in which their accounts, those of others and that of the world in general act as constraints to more co-operative personal engagements. Central to the constructivist philosophy is the belief that our knowledge is not an inner and passive representation of "the world as it is", but rather a product of our constructions, or our thoughts and feelings about events and experiences in our lives." ~ Excerpt from The Irish Council for Psychotherapy
Websites Related to Constructivism: The Internet Encyclopedia of Personal Construct Psychology, Personal Construct Psychology Forum, WebGrid III, Constructing Worlds The Constructivist Psychology Network, The Psychology of Personal Constructs
Wikipedia's page on Constructivism: not listed
Find a Therapist: Are you looking for Constructivist Therapist? Click below to find one:
Books about Constructivism:
