Personal Construct Psychology in the Clinical Context

Robert B. MacIntyre is head of the Centre for Relationship Therapy and
Education in Orangeville, Ontario.

George Kelly’s personal construct psychology, first presented in two
volumes in 1955, was an early systemized framework of what would now be
called cognitive science. Having both an academic grounding and clinical
applications, it has continued to be used by a small, dedicated group of
professionals. The book under review presents a concise survey of the
theory as well as the clinical tools that were based on Kelly’s
conceptualization (particularly interview techniques and the use of grid
analysis in diagnosis and therapy evaluation).

The book will be of value to anyone with an interest in clinical
applications of cognitive psychology in general, or in Kelly’s
personal construct psychology in particular. The section on
psychological evaluation demonstrates how the interconnection of
empirical and phenomenological approaches to evaluation helps to
establish a picture of the world as the client sees it. The section on
using grids in evaluation presents a variety of clinical cases showing
the flexibility of this approach. The therapy chapter includes examples
of the major techniques derived from Kelly’s work, while the chapter
on wider applications includes material for application, speculation,
and empirical research. Current resources for grid analysis and software
are included.