Theory, technique, and person: Technical integration in experiential constructivist psychotherapy.

Abstract

From an experiential constructivist position, the distinction between the therapist as a person, the therapist’s theory of psychotherapy, and techniques used within the therapy room is, in some ways, forced and arbitrary. Principles of experiential personal construct psychotherapy are presented along with illustrations of the ways many techniques from many other schools of therapy can be used by the therapist. After exploring some of the implications of this position, I describe four specific, theoretically relevant goals within experiential personal construct psychotherapy (initially connecting with the client, developing a felt understanding of the client’s experience, establishing relational intimacy, and fostering creativity). For each of these goals, I illustrate some techniques, originally developed within other theories, which can be usefully integrated into experiential personal constructivist psychotherapy.