The Essential Practitioner's Handbook of Personal Construct Psychology

This is a concise paperback version of the authoritative International Handbook of Personal Construct Psychology, focusing on the practical elements of that volume. Ideal for the individual practitioner, this selection of chapters covers the basic theory of personal constructs; the many skills and tools used by personal construct psychologists; its general application to psychotherapy and counselling; as well as many specific applications such as cross-cultural understanding, post-traumatic stress, children, teacher education, organizational change, nursing and family therapy. This is an indispensable guide to theory and skills for those wishing to use the personal construct psychology approach in their practice. It will appeal to a wide range of professionals such as psychologists, teachers, psychiatrists, nurses, system engineers and managers.

Table of Contents:
About the Editor ix International Advisory Panel xi List of Contributors xiii Preface xv Acknowledgements xvii Section I: What Personal Construct Psychology Is All About Chapter 1 George Alexander Kelly: The Man and his Theory 3 Fay Fransella and Robert A. Neimeyer Chapter 2 The Logic of Passion 15 Don Bannister Chapter 3 The Power of a Good Theory 29 Sean Brophy, Fay Fransella and Nick Reed Section II: What Are Some of PCP’s Techniques? Chapter 4 Some Skills and Tools for Personal Construct Users 41 Fay Fransella Chapter 5 A Range of Elicitation Methods to Suit Client and Purpose 57 Pam Denicolo Chapter 6 The Repertory Grid Technique 67 Richard C. Bell Chapter 7 Making Sense of Dependency 77 Beverly M.Walker Chapter 8 Expertise and Expert Systems: Emulating Psychological Processes 87 Mildred L.G. Shaw and Brian R. Gaines Chapter 9 From Theory to Research to Change 95 Fay Fransella Section III: How Can PCP Help Us to Understand People or Help Them to Change? Part 1: Working with the Individual or Individuals in Small Groups Chapter 10 Is Treatment a Good Idea? 109 George A. Kelly Chapter 11 An Audacious Adventure: Personal Construct Counselling and Psychotherapy 113 Franz R. Epting, Marco Gemignani and Malcolm C. Cross Chapter 12 The Evidence Base for Personal Construct Psychotherapy 123 David Winter Chapter 13 Constructive Intervention with Children when Presented as Problems 133 Tom Ravenette Chapter 14 How Can We Understand One Another if We Don’t Speak the Same Language? 145 Devi Jankowicz Chapter 15 Working with Anger 153 Peter Cummins Chapter 16 An Approach to Post-Traumatic Stress 163 Kenneth W. Sewell Chapter 17.1 Nursing 173 Julie M. Ellis, Jacqui Costigan and Julie Watkinson Chapter 17.2 Family Therapy 177 Harry Procter Chapter 17.3 The Metropolitan Police, London: A Personal Account 181 John Porter Chapter 17.4 A Sporting Use of Personal Construct Psychology 185 David Savage Chapter 17.5 Artificial Intelligence 189 Jack Adams-Webber Part 2: Working with Large Groups of People Chapter 18 Construing Teaching and Teacher Education Worldwide 195 Maureen Pope Chapter 19 Making Sense of the ‘Group Mind’ 203 Adrian Robertson Chapter 20 Charting Organizational Change 213 Nelarine Cornelius Chapter 21 Clarifying Corporate Values: A Case Study 223 Sean Brophy Section IV: Where Might Personal Construct Psychology Be Going Now? Chapter 22 Personal Construct Psychotherapy and the Constructivist Horizon 235 Robert A. Neimeyer and Scott A. Baldwin Chapter 23 New Avenues to Explore and Questions to Ask 245 Fay Fransella Appendix 1 Theoretical Definitions 253 Appendix 2 Some Basic Books on Personal Construct Psychology 256 Appendix 3 Internet Resources for Personal Construct Psychology 259 Brian R. Gaines References 263 Index 283

About the Author :
Fay Fransella is Founder and Director of the Centre for Personal Construct Psychology, Emeritus Reader in Clinical Psychology, University of London and Visiting Professor in Personal Construct Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. She has written eleven books, eight of them specifically relating to personal construct psychology and published over one hundred and fifty journal papers and chapters. She trained and worked as an Occupational Therapist for ten years before taking a degree in psychology and a postgraduate diploma in clinical psychology in 1962. It was during her first job as a lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry, London that she was introduced to George Kelly’s personal construct psychology. It was a revolutionary alternative to the dominant behaviourism of the time. She found the view that we are all free agents responsible for what we make of the events which continually confront us particularly liberating. Since that time she has carried out research, mainly into problems of stuttering and weight, together with teaching and writing within the framework of Kelly’s ideas.

Review :
"...This book certainly lived up to its title as 'essential handbook'...very readable on a recreational level, yet challenging and thought-provoking on a professional level - a refreshing experience..." (The Psychologist, November 2005) "...very readable on a recreational level, challenging and thought-provoking on a professional level - a refreshing experience..." (Psychologist, November 05) "…extremely readable… challenging and extensive, making it a must read for all practitioners with an interest in Personal construct psychology." (The Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling & Psychotherapy, Summer 2007)