Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Personal and Relational Construct Formulation

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Personal and Relational Construct Psychotherapy

Part of the book series: Palgrave Texts in Counselling and Psychotherapy ((PTCP))

  • 503 Accesses

Abstract

The issue of diagnosis is discussed, with Kelly’s approach to formulation involving transitive diagnosis being preferred. We look at personal construct approaches and research on psychological disorders, formulation in the relational extension of PCP, and construing in the wider culture. The chapter concludes with a consideration of the critiques of formulation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 59.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bannister, D. (1960). Conceptual structure in thought-disordered schizophrenics. Journal of Mental Science, 106, 1230–1249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bannister, D. (1962). The nature and measurement of schizophrenic thought disorder. Journal of Mental Science, 108, 825–842.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bannister, D. (1963). The genesis of schizophrenic thought disorder: A serial invalidation hypothesis. British Journal of Psychiatry, 109, 680–686.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bannister, D. (1965). The genesis of schizophrenic thought disorder: Re-test of the serial invalidation hypothesis. British Journal of Psychiatry, 111, 377–382.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bannister, D., & Fransella, F. (1966). A grid test of schizophrenic thought disorder. British Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 5(2), 95–102.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bateson, G., Jackson, D. D., Haley, J., & Weakland, J. (1956). Toward a theory of schizophrenia. Behavioral Science, 1, 251–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhandari, S., Winter, D. A., Messer, D., & Metcalfe, C. (2011). Family characteristics and long-term effects of childhood sexual abuse. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 50, 435–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruch, M. (1998). The development of case formulation approaches. In M. Bruch & F. W. Bond (Eds.), Beyond Diagnosis: Case Formulation Approaches in Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (pp. 1–23). Chichester, UK: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butt, T. (2013). Toward a pragmatic psychology. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 26, 218–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Button, E. J. (1993). Eating Disorders: Personal Construct Therapy and Change. Chichester, UK: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castiglioni, M., Faccio, E., Veronese, G., & Bell, R. C. (2013). The semantics of power among people with eating disorders. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 26, 62–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiari, G. (2017b). Highlighting intersubjectivity and recognition in Kelly’s sketchy view of personal identity. In D. Winter, P. Cummins, H. G. Procter, & N. Reed (Eds.), Personal Construct Psychology at 60: Papers from the 21st International Congress (pp. 54–67). Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chiari, G., Nuzzo, M. L., Alfano, V., Brogna, P., D’Andrea, T., Di Battista, G., … Stiffan, E. (1994). Personal paths of dependency. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 7, 17–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cipolletta, S., & Racerro, G. (2003). Testing the serial invalidation hypothesis in the genesis of schizophrenic thought disorder: A research with repertory grids. In G. Chiari & M. L. Nuzzo (Eds.), Psychological Constructivism and the Social World (pp. 353–368). Milan, Italy: Franco Angeli.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dallos, R., & Procter, H. G. (1984). Family Processes: An Interactional View. D307 Social Psychology Course, Open University, Milton Keynes.

    Google Scholar 

  • DiLollo, A., Manning, W. H., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2005). Cognitive complexity as a function of speaker role for adult persons who stutter. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 18, 215–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Division of Clinical Psychology. (2011). Good Practice Guidelines on the Use of Psychological Formulation. Leicester, UK: British Psychological Society.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dzamonja-Ignjatovic, T. (1997). Suicide and depression from the personal construct perspective. In P. Denicolo & M. Pope (Eds.), Sharing Understanding and Practice (pp. 222–234). Farnborough, UK: EPCA Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eells, T. D. (2006). History and current status of psychotherapy case formulation. In T. D. Eells (Ed.), Handbook of Psychotherapy Case Formulation (2nd ed., pp. 3–32). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erbes, C. R., & Harter, S. L. (2002). Constructions of abuse: Understanding the effects of childhood sexual abuse. In J. D. Raskin & S. K. Bridges (Eds.), Studies in Meaning: Exploring Constructivist Psychology (pp. 27–48). New York: Pace University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feixas, G. (1995). Personal constructs in systemic practice. In R. A. Neimeyer & M. J. Mahoney (Eds.), Constructivism in Psychotherapy (pp. 305–337). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Feixas, G., Erazo-Caicedo, M. I., Harter, S. L., & Bach, L. (2008). Construction of self and others in unipolar depressive disorders: A study using repertory grid technique. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32, 386–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feixas, G., Montebruno, C., Dada, G., Del Castillo, M. & Compañ, V. (2010). Self construction, cognitive conflicts and polarization in bulimia nervosa. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 10, 445–457.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feixas, G., Montesano, A., Compan, V., Salla, M., Dada, G., Pucurull, O., … Guardia, J. (2014a). Cognitive conflicts in major depression: Between desired change and personal coherence. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 53(4), 369–385.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feixas, G., Montesano, A., Erazo-Caicedo, M. I., Compañ, V., & Pucurull, O. (2014b). Implicative dilemmas and symptom severity in depression: A preliminary and content analysis study. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 27, 31–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feixas, G., Saúl, L. A., & Ávila-Espada, A. (2009). Viewing cognitive conflicts as dilemmas: Implications for mental health. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 22, 141–169.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fisch, R., Weakland, J. H., & Segal, L. (1982). The Tactics of Change: Doing Therapy Briefly. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fransella, F. (1972). Personal Change and Reconstruction: Research on a Treatment of Stuttering. London: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fransella, F. (2001). The making of a psychologist: A late developer. In G. C. Bunn, A. D. Lovie, & G. C. Richards (Eds.), Psychology in Britain: Historical Essays and Personal Reflections (pp. 372–380). London: BPS Books and Science Museum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gara, M. A., Rosenberg, S., & Mueller, D. R. (1989). Perception of self and others in schizophrenia. International Journal of Personal Construct Psychology, 2, 253–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • García‐Mieres, H., Niño‐Robles, N., Ochoa, S., & Feixas, G. (2019). Exploring identity and personal meanings in psychosis using the repertory grid technique: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 26, 717–733.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haley, J. (1963). Strategies of Psychotherapy. New York: Grune and Stratton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haley, J. (1967). Toward a theory of pathological systems. In J. Zuk & I. Nagy (Eds.), Family Therapy and Disturbed Families (pp. 11–27). Palo Alto, CA: Science and Behavior Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hopkins, N. J. (2012). Is there a typical agoraphobic core structure? Personal Construct Theory and Practice, 9, 19–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, S. L., & Neimeyer, R. A. (1990). A cognitive model of suicidal behavior. In D. Lester (Ed.), Understanding Suicide: The State of the Art (pp. 1–28). New York: Charles Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, S. L., & Neimeyer, R. A. (1993). Cognitive predictors of suicide risk among hospitalized psychiatric patients: A prospective study. Death Studies, 17, 103–124.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnstone, L. (2014). Controversies and debates about formulation. In L. Johnstone & R. Dallos (Eds.), Formulation in Psychology and Psychotherapy (2nd ed., pp. 260–289). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, G. A. (1955). The Psychology of Personal Constructs. Vol. I, II. New York: Norton (2nd printing: 1991, London and New York: Routledge).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, G. A. (1961). Theory and therapy in suicide: The personal construct point of view. In M. Farberow & E. Shneidman (Eds.), The Cry for Help (pp. 255–280). New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, G. A. (1969b). Personal construct theory and the psychotherapeutic interview. In B. Maher (Ed.), Clinical Psychology and Personality: The Selected Papers of George Kelly (pp. 224–264). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klion, R. E. (1993). Chemical dependency: A personal construct theory approach. In A. W. Landfield & L. M. Leitner (Eds.), Critical Issues in Personal Construct Psychotherapy (pp. 279–301). Melbourne, FL: Krieger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laing, R. D. (1971). The family and the ‘family’. In R. D. Laing (Ed.), The Politics of the Family and Other Essays (pp. 3–18). Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landfield, A. (1971). Personal Construct Systems in Psychotherapy. Chicago: Rand McNally.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leitner, L. M., Faidley, A. J., & Celentana, M. A. (2000). Diagnosing human meaning-making: An experiential constructivist approach. In R. A. Neimeyer & J. D. Raskin (Eds.), Construction of Disorders: Meaning Making Frameworks for Psychotherapy (pp. 175–203). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Montesano, A., Feixas, G., Erazo-Caicedo, M. I., Saúl, L. A., Dada, G., & Winter, D. (2014). Cognitive conflicts and symptom severity in Dysthymia: “I’d rather be good than happy”. Salud Mental, 37, 41–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montesano, A., López-González, M. A., Saúl, L. Á., & Feixas, G. (2015). A review of cognitive conflicts research: A meta-analytic study of prevalence and relation to symptoms. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 12, 2997–3006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Procter, H. G. (1981). Family construct psychology: An approach to understanding and treating families. In S. Walrond-Skinner (Ed.), Developments in Family Therapy: Theories and Applications since 1948 (pp. 350–366). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Procter, H. G. (2016b). PCP, culture and society. In D. A. Winter & N. Reed (Eds.), The Wiley Handbook of Personal Construct Psychology (pp. 139–153). Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Procter, H. G., & Procter, M. J. (2008). The use of qualitative grids to examine the development of the construct of good and evil in Byron’s play ‘Cain: A mystery’. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 21, 343–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Procter, H. G., & Ugazio, V. (2017). Family constructs and semantic polarities: A convergent perspective? In D. A. Winter, P. Cummins, H. G. Procter, & N. Reed (Eds.), Personal Construct Psychology at 60: Papers from the 21st International Congress (pp. 68–89). Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, C. R. (1951). Client-Centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications, and Theory. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, R. (1996). Form, formlessness and formulation. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 6, 107–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Selvini, M. P., Boscolo, L., Cecchin, G., & Prata, G. (1980). Hypothesizing–circularity–neutrality: Three guidelines for the conductor of the session. Family Process, 19, 3–12.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sermpezis, C., & Winter, D. A. (2009). Is trauma the product of over or under-elaboration? A critique of the personal construct model of post-traumatic stress disorder. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 22, 306–327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sewell, K. W. (1997). Posttraumatic stress: Towards a constructivist model of psychotherapy. In G. J. Neimeyer & R. A. Neimeyer (Eds.), Advances in Personal Construct Psychology (pp. 207–235). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smail, D. (1996). How to Survive Without Psychotherapy. London: Constable.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ugazio, V. (2013). Semantic Polarities and Psychopathologies in the Family: Permitted and Forbidden Stories. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ugazio, V., Negri, A., & Fellin, L. (2015). Freedom, goodness, power, and belonging: The semantics of phobic, obsessive-compulsive, eating, and mood disorders. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 28, 293–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, B. M. (2002). Nonvalidation vs. (In)validation: Implications for theory and practice. In J. D. Raskin & S. K. Bridges (Eds.), Studies in Meaning: Exploring Constructivist Psychology (pp. 49–61). New York: Pace University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watzlawick, P., Beavin, J., & Jackson, D. D. (1968). Pragmatics of Human Communication. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watzlawick, P., Weakland, J., & Fisch, R. (1974). Change: Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, M., & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends. Adelaide, Australia: Dulwich Centre Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winter, D. A. (1975). Some characteristics of schizophrenics and their parents. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 14, 279–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winter, D. A. (1992). Personal Construct Psychology in Clinical Practice: Theory, Research and Applications. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winter, D. A. (2003a). Psychological disorder as imbalance. In F. Fransella (Ed.), International Handbook of Personal Construct Psychology (pp. 201–209). Chichester, UK: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winter, D., & Gournay, K. (1987). Constriction and construction in agoraphobia. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 60, 233–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winter, D. A. (2009). The personal construct psychology view of psychological disorder: Did Kelly get it wrong? In L. M. Leitner & J. C. Thomas (Eds.), Personal Constructivism: Theory and Applications (pp. 279–295). New York: Pace University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winter, D., Sireling, L., Riley, T., Metcalfe, C., Quaite, A., & Bhandari, S. (2007). A controlled trial of personal construct psychotherapy for deliberate self-harm. Psychology and Psychotherapy, 80, 23–37.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK

    Harry Procter & David A. Winter

Authors
  1. Harry Procter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David A. Winter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Procter, H., Winter, D.A. (2020). Personal and Relational Construct Formulation. In: Personal and Relational Construct Psychotherapy. Palgrave Texts in Counselling and Psychotherapy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52177-6_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation