Using Personal Construct Methods in Reflective Practice Viv

Using Personal Construct Methods in Reflective Practice Viv Burr and Nigel King University of Huddersfield School of Human and Health Sciences Institute for Research in Citizenship and Applied Human Sciences Centre for Applied Psychological and Health Research 1

Personal Construct Psychology George Kelly (1955) The Psychology of Personal Constructs 2

Personal Construct Psychology n n Clinical origins Limited usefulness of (then) popular approaches: n Psychoanalysis n Behaviour therapy 3

Personal Construct Psychology n n Meanings rather than events How the world SEEMS to us How we interpret events is key Some interpretations are more helpful than others 4

Personal Construct Psychology A person may approach the world ‘as-if’ it were: 5

…a threatening place 6

…or a place full of possibilities 7

Personal Construct Psychology n n n Over the course of our lives we develop dimensions of meaning which we apply to our world These dimensions of meaning are ‘constructs’ Constructs are dichotomous (bi-polar) People are different to the extent that they use different constructs We can understand a person to the extent that we can understand the constructs they use 8

Personal Construct Psychology n n Eliciting our constructs helps us to articulate how we see the world We can then more explicitly reflect upon ourselves, our perspective and our conduct 9

Personal Construct Psychology Methods we will use today: Construct Elicitation Laddering: Helps us to articulate ‘core’ values 10

Personal Construct Psychology Construct elicitation: friendship Take 6 cards • Write ‘me as a friend’ on one • Write on each of the others a name for 5 other people you know • Select any 3 and ask “how are two similar but different from the third? ” • Focus on how they treat others • Record your constructs on the sheet provided 11

Personal Construct Psychology Construct elicitation: social work values Take 6 cards n Write ‘me as a social worker’ on one n Write on each of the others a name for 5 other social workers you have seen in practice n Select any 3 and ask “how are two similar but different from the third? ” n Focus on how they behave towards service users, service users’ families and friends, colleagues and professionals from other services 12 n Record your constructs on the sheet provided

Personal Construct Psychology Example of ‘laddering’ “Vegetarian – Eats meat” Preferred pole? “Vegetarian” why? “it’s about recognising the right to life of animals” As opposed to what? “it’s just using animals for your own ends”. Why is it important to you recognise animals’ rights to life? It’s about living in the world in a way that accommodates the needs of others, not just yourself” As opposed to what? “it’s thinking only about yourself and what you want”. 13

Personal Construct Psychology Accommodate other’s needs – Think only about self ↑ Animals’ rights to life – Use animals for own ends ↑ Vegetarian - Eats meat 14