Table Of ContentThe SAGE Encyclopedia of
Theory
in
Counseling
and
Psychotherapy
2
Edited by
Edward S. Neukrug
Old Dominion University
(c) 2015 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
J
pastor father. As a result, he was at first unable to
J , D
ACKSON ONALD
look at the contents of the dream but eventually
came to interpret it as God pouring scorn on the
See
Palo Alto Group Church and his father’s beliefs. This interpretation
freed Jung to explore his own religious path,
culminating in his later work Answer to Job, in
which he wrote about the dark or shadow side of
J , C G
UNG ARL USTAV
the Godhead.
In 1903, Jung married the heiress Emma
Analytical psychology is the creation of the Swiss Rauschenbach, her wealth ensuring that he was
psychiatrist and analytical psychologist Carl able to live the rest of his life in comfort, free from
Gustav Jung (1875–1961). He was born at Kesswil financial concerns. The marriage produced five
by Lake Constance in Switzerland, the fourth-born children, four daughters and a son. In the course
but first surviving child of his parents, he remained of his long married life, Jung had extramarital
an only child up to the age of 9 years, with the relationships, most notably with Sabine Spielrein
arrival of a sister, Trudi. He was a solitary child, and Toni Wolff. His relationship with the former
finding solace in dreams and daydreams, which set generated a great deal of prurient as well as seri-
the stage for his interest in an inner life. His father, ous interest, resulting in several books, a play, and
Paul Jung, was a country parson of the Basel three films. From the point of view of his work as
Reformed Church, and his mother, Emilie a psychoanalyst, the most important outcome of
Preiswerk, had recurring bouts of mental illness this liaison was his later work The Psychology of
that required hospital treatment. the Transference (1946). In writing that work, he
Each important event in Jung’s life was presaged was finally able to explore the erotic feelings that
by a significant dream, starting with one at the age had existed decades before between himself and
of 4 years that he remembered for the rest of his Spielrein, his first psychoanalytic patient. His
life. Another dream, at the age of 12, possibly the long-lasting affair with Wolff, a former patient,
most significant of all, may be summarized as led to their close personal and professional
follows. He found himself in the gloomy courtyard collaboration for 40 years and a triangular
of the gymnasium at Basel, Switzerland, and saw relationship between the two of them and his
before him the cathedral, above which sat God on wife, Emma.
His throne. This scene of harmony and beauty was Jung trained as a psychiatrist and worked in
shattered by God dropping a turd on the cathedral. that capacity at the Burghölzli Hospital in Zürich,
At the time of this dream, Jung was a devout Switzerland, from 1900 to 1909. It was in the
Christian following the religious teachings of his course of his work there that he first encountered
591
(c) 2015 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
592 Jung, Carl Gustav
Spielrein, when she was admitted as an inpatient in collective unconscious is inherited, not developed, by
1904 with a diagnosis of psychotic hysteria. Jung individuals and is universal and impersonal. It is the
was a gifted psychiatrist and spent a great deal of realm of the archetypes. Allied to these is Jung’s
time talking with patients in the hope of d iscovering concept of the Self, sometimes thought of as the
the origin of their illness. He also conducted God-image, which transcends and defines the psychic
extensive research using word association tests to realm.
further his experimental work on complexes. Jung’s writings on typology, in particular the
Complexes may be defined as autonomous concepts of introversion and extraversion c ombined
subpersonalities that lie below the level of with the four ways of functioning—thinking,
consciousness and, when activated, intrude on the feeling, intuition, and sensation—shed light on the
conscious mind in a disturbing and harmful way. different personality types to be found in people.
One well-known example is that of a mother Among his other concepts, anima and animus
complex. This area of Jung’s work was so important represent the feminine and masculine principles,
to Jung that he considered calling his approach respectively; persona describes the mask or front
complex psychology. that is presented to the world; dreams perform a
Jung’s most significant professional collabora- compensatory function to the conscious personality;
tion was with the pioneer of psychoanalysis, and synchronicity stands for meaningful
Sigmund Freud (1856–1939). Jung first applied coincidence, an acausal connecting principle that
psychoanalytical ideas in his work as a psychiatrist synchronizes inner and outer events.
in 1904, with Freud starting a correspondence In 1913, Jung began a confrontation with the
between them in 1906. This led to their first unconscious that lasted until 1930. His fantasies
meeting in Vienna in 1907. The coming together of and paintings from that time were transcribed by
the two was based on mutual advantage, with him into the Red Book, which was published in
Jung deriving a theory to underlie his work on 2009 and can be thought of as Jung’s individuating
complexes and Freud finding in Jung’s research a process or spiritual autobiography. On the back
method that could provide proof for his own ideas. cover of the Red Book is a statement made by Jung
Jung became Freud’s heir apparent and was appointed in 1957, which ends by saying that the numinous
president of the International Psychoanalytic beginning, which contained everything, was then.
Association at the second p sychoanalytic conference The numinous is a key concept in Jung’s approach
at Nuremberg, Germany, in 1910. Three years later, and may be defined as a fleeting experience of a
the Freud–Jung r elationship collapsed into mutual religious or spiritual nature that is awesome and
diagnosis, and a split between them in 1913 has had mysterious.
repercussions for their followers in the psychoanalyti- His discovery of alchemy in 1928 led him away
cal world since that time. from his work on the Red Book; his researches
As a foreword to setting out some of the main into alchemy last continued for the rest of his life.
concepts of Jung’s metapsychology, it should be noted The dialectics of the alchemical process, that of
that he viewed psychology as the discipline that could union and separation, result in the symbolic higher
resolve the major debates in philosophy, sociology, marriage of opposites. Symbolism is able to unite
biology, anthropology, comparative religion, and the opposites of spirit and matter in a single image.
other fields. This view was an encyclopedic vision of A central goal of Jungian psychoanalysis is the
psychology as the discipline to unite the circle of coming into being of the capacity for symbolization,
science. His two signature concepts—(1) collective combined with the potential for patient and
unconscious and (2) archetypes—exemplify this analyst to be mutually transformed by the
vision, representing as they do innate universal psychological alchemical process.
structures in the mind or ancient thought forms Jung travelled extensively in the course of his
common to humanity. Archetypes are patterns of life to other parts of Europe, including England.
instinctual behavior that erupt into consciousness in He also ventured farther afield to the United
symbolic form and underlie the quest for individuation, States, his first voyage there being with Freud and
which is defined as becoming wholly and indivisibly fellow psychoanalyst Sandor Ferenczi in 1909. In
oneself, distinct from others. According to Jung, the the course of his travels, Jung also visited some
(c) 2015 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Jungian Group Psychotherapy 593
parts of Africa and India, particularly after he depth, therapy that seeks to foster the w holeness
retired in 1946. Visiting tribal cultures was and unique personal characteristics of the patient
important for Jung, as he sought to understand the in a psychotherapy group. Jungian approaches to
common symbols that were present in all cultures. group psychotherapy integrate the analytical
In 1955, his wife passed away, at which point he psychology of Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961), a
became increasingly reclusive. He died in 1961 in Swiss psychiatrist and one of the seminal
Zurich, Switzerland. psychotherapists and thinkers of the 20th century.
In 1995, the International Association for Jung’s analytical psychology suggests that each
Analytical Psychology was formed, which serves as individual’s unconscious contains the drive for a
the professional body for Jungian psychoanalysts unique expression of the person’s life; thus,
worldwide. The work started by Jung continues in analytical psychology seeks to bring the individual
training institutes, developing groups, and/or in contact with his or her own unconscious
analytical psychology clubs in every continent. Jung’s purpose in life and to encourage its expression.
corpus of written work has largely been disseminated Because of his emphasis on the unique individual
through the 20 volumes of C. G. Jung: The Collected potential and wholeness of each patient, Jung
Works, the Freud/Jung Letters, the 2 volumes of the himself was not enthusiastic about the potential
C. G. Jung Letters, and an autobiographical work, for group psychotherapy. Nonetheless, some
Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Jungian analysts today offer psychotherapy groups
in which the group is treated as a means for
Ann Casement
furthering individual growth, and they believe
that the unique qualities of a group offer an
See also Analytical Psychology; Classical Psychoanalytic
opportunity to facilitate the individuation of each
Approaches: Overview; Freud, Sigmund; Freudian
client.
Psychoanalysis
Further Readings Historical Context
Casement, A. (2001). Carl Gustav Jung. Thousand Oaks, Jung was an early disciple of Sigmund Freud
CA: Sage. (1856–1939), and the two had a close c ollaborative
Jung, C. G. (1953). Psychology and alchemy (Vol. 12). relationship from 1902 to 1913. Freud was hopeful
London, England: Routledge & Kegan Paul. that Jung would become the “crown prince” of the
Jung, C. G. (1954). The practice of psychotherapy psychoanalytical movement, but Jung viewed the
(Vol. 16). London, England: Routledge & Kegan Paul. dynamic unconscious more broadly than did
Jung, C. G. (1959). The archetypes and the collective Freud. Jung disagreed with Freud’s insistence that
unconscious (Vol. 9). London, England: Routledge &
the unconscious contained predominately or
Kegan Paul.
exclusively aggressive and sexual drives; this
Jung, C. G. (1961). Memories, dreams, reflections.
disagreement led to a rupture between the two
London, England: Random House.
theorists. Jung went on to develop his own theory,
Jung, C. G. (1966). Two essays on analytical psychology
called analytical psychology to distinguish it from
(Vol. 7). London, England: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Freud’s psychoanalysis. Beginning in the 1920s,
Jung, C. G. (1971). Psychological types (Vol. 6). London,
Jung published prolifically and wrote on a series of
England: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
groundbreaking studies that described the positive
Shamdasani, S. (2003). Jung and the making of modern
potential of the unconscious, outlined personality
psychology: The dream of a science. Cambridge,
typology, and explored the common or “collective”
England: Cambridge University Press.
unconscious of humanity. Jung’s ideas became
popular with many in the “human potential”
movement in the 1960s and 1970s and remain an
J G P
UNGIAN ROUP SYCHOTHERAPY
important, though frequently unacknowledged,
influence in psychology to this day. Over the years,
A Jungian (or analytical) approach to group Jungian analysis of the individual has thrived and
psychotherapy is a unique psychodynamic, or become a vital therapeutic modality. Although
(c) 2015 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
594 Jungian Group Psychotherapy
Jung did not favor group psychotherapy, a small Jung’s View of the Dynamic Unconscious
number of Jungian analysts and Jungian-oriented
Jung believed that the dynamic unconscious
therapists have sought to integrate his ideas into
contained sexual and aggressive drives as well as
psychotherapy groups. In contrast to Jung, Jungian
positive drives, which combine to express the
group analysts believe, perhaps paradoxically, that
unique way of being for each person. Inherent in
a psychotherapy group offers a unique setting for
the unconscious, Jung believed, was a desire to
supporting individual patients as they seek to
affiliate in groups, a need for creative expression,
express their unique way of being.
the impulse to make meaning of human e xperience,
and an undefined additional unconscious p otential.
Theoretical Underpinnings A Jungian group therapist would use the differing
perspectives of a group to explore a variety of
As a major variation of psychodynamic, or depth,
ways of understanding unconscious material.
psychotherapy, Jungian analytical psychology
follows the psychodynamic assumption that the
motivations of individual patients, and of the Individuation
group, will often be outside of their conscious
At the center of Jung’s theory is the idea of
awareness. Jung developed his theories in the
individuation, which is the unconscious need and
shadow of the 19th-century European p hilosophical
desire of every human being to live a unique life
emphasis on materialistic science and objective,
that is in accord with his or her deepest and truest
observable phenomena. Jung’s personal, scientific,
nature. However, an individual’s true nature is
and clinical work convinced him that the old
often hidden from his or her self, and the i ndividual
scientific model was reductive and failed to account
must challenge himself or herself to find it. In a
for more intuitive ways of knowing and
psychotherapy group, individual members can
experiencing wholeness and individuality in life.
support each other in finding and expressing their
As a result, he sought to develop a theory that
strivings for individuation.
could explain not only the aggression and sexuality
that he observed in his patients but also their
The Ego–Self Axis
strivings for unique personal wholeness, their
attempts to make sense of their experiences through The ego–self axis is an interaction between the
symbols and artistic endeavor, and the broad individual’s center of consciousness (the ego) and
human need for connection, meaning, and creative the individual’s most positive and inspiring
expression. In more recent years, some therapists unconscious (the self). If the ego is in a healthy
have taken Jung’s original concepts and used them alignment with the self, an individual will
within the group setting. These Jungian group experience support, inspiration, and growth
therapists believe that the nature of the group through contact with his or her personal
offers the individual the opportunity to examine unconscious. An individual ego that is too critical
how his or her self is perceived by others in the of, or shut off from, the self will result in alienation
group and gives the individual an opportunity to and despair. An individual ego that is uncritically
experiment with new, unexamined aspects of self overwhelmed by unconscious material can result
within a safe environment. in inflation, a naive spirituality, or foolish idealism.
A group setting provides an opportunity for
individuals to experiment with greater openness to
Major Concepts
the self or improved functioning of the ego, as
Although Jung’s works takes up many volumes, six appropriate.
of the more important concepts for Jungian group
therapy are discussed in this section, including
The Problem of the Opposites
Jung’s view of the dynamic unconscious, individu-
ation, the ego–self-axis, the problem of the oppo- Jung maintained that every psychological
sites, an alchemical approach to transference, and phenomenon also brought with it an opposing
archetypes and the collective unconscious. energy. For instance, Jung suggested that each
(c) 2015 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Jungian Group Psychotherapy 595
person had an animus and an anima—or a masculine Techniques
and a feminine side, respectively. He stated that
Jung was averse to prescribing particular t echniques
when an individual identified too strongly with
for conducting analytical psychology. Rather, he
either pole of an opposite, he or she became
believed that the analyst must be open to i nfluences
“polarized.” He stated that psychological maturity
from the patient and respond authentically and to
involved being able to recognize and integrate
all aspects of the patient’s personality toward the
psychological phenomena that are diametrically
goal of helping the individual become whole.
opposed—the opposites of one’s p ersonality. Group
Nonetheless, it is possible to infer some technical
members can help each other see their polar
guidelines based on Jung’s key principles.
opposites, and members can also experiment with
opposing parts of self within the group setting. In
addition, members in a p sychotherapy group will A Broad Perspective on the Unconscious
frequently become polarized into opposing
Jungian analysts leading groups seek to r ecognize
positions; the multiplicity of perspectives in the
the broad potential of their patients’ unconscious
group is a helpful way to reduce this tension.
and to integrate interpretations about sexual and
aggressive drives with interpretations about a
An Alchemical Approach to Transference patient’s other potential unconscious motivations.
The group therapist thus seeks to foster curiosity
Jung used medieval alchemy, or the notion that
and exploration about the unconscious dynamics
a base metal could be transformed into a precious
observed in a group. The therapist in a group
metal (e.g., iron into gold), as a metaphor for the
invites other members to participate in “ amplifying”
process of analytical psychology. He emphasized
a possible unconscious motivation. To amplify in a
that both the patient and the analyst were mutually
group suggests that many members would offer
transformed through contact with each other. In a
perspectives on the unconscious motivations that
psychotherapy group, members allow themselves
they observe in a group. In keeping with Jung’s
to soften ego boundaries and experience empathy
orientation, the group therapist tries to avoid
deeply with one another and with the therapist,
reductive interpretations but encourages a curious
thus transforming themselves and one another. In
attitude that is open to multiple possibilities.
a Jungian perspective, it is also inevitable and
desirable that the group therapist will also
Fostering Individuation
experience change and growth.
Jungian analysts are constantly looking for
ways to encourage individuation in their clients,
Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious
that is, encouraging each member to increasingly
Analytical psychotherapy seeks awareness of embrace all aspects of self and become more fully
the power of archetypes, which are patterns of who he or she is. Jung encouraged patients to learn
psychological organization observed throughout about these aspects of self in individual therapy. In
time and across cultures. Archetypes reveal a a group, individual members are encouraged by
common human, or collective, unconscious that both the therapist and the other members to
manifests itself as similar drives, patterns, and uncover the opposite and lost parts of self and to
needs expressed universally in human culture. For express their visions of what their lives could be by
instance, all cultures seem to have similar stories discussing their hopes, dreams, and visions for
that symbolically reflect the “mother” or the “wise their lives. This process of mutual encouragement
person” or the “warrior.” Jungian psychotherapy and goal setting in the group aids individuals with
groups give group members permission to access their individuation processes.
their archetypes and to understand how they
become uniquely expressed in each member. By
Encouraging a Healthy Ego–Self Axis
expressing the range of this material, the group can
experience the power of the archetype to enhance To encourage a healthy ego–self axis, the group
dignity and meaning in individual members. analyst looks at the individual’s relationship
(c) 2015 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
596 Jungian Group Psychotherapy
to his or her unconscious and seeks to increase members of the group. In a Jungian psychotherapy
access to the unconscious for those whose self- group, the deep empathy that develops among
knowledge is restricted. The analyst also encour- members softens ego boundaries, and members
ages critical thinking in patients who become help transform one another as they pursue their
overwhelmed by their unconscious c ontent. The individual life journeys. The Jungian group
therapist i ntroduces the group m embers to the therapist is also open to being deeply influenced by
concept of “the self,” which helps members see individual members and by the entire group.
positive and healing potential in the unconscious. Although the therapist may be circumspect in
As individual members explore their contact with disclosing the nature of this influence to group
the self, other members in the group become members, he or she will use that experience to
more open to their own self, and the group inform interventions with the group.
explores the effects of c ontact with this aspect of
consciousness. If a group member seems to have
Amplification of Archetypes
an overly harsh ego perspective toward his or her
and the Collective Unconscious
own self, other group members can share their
perspectives and encourage greater openness. If, A Jungian analyst working with dream or
on the other hand, an i ndividual member’s sense other unconscious material in a group seeks to
of connection with the self is so powerful that his amplify the patient’s material through an open-
or her ego functioning deteriorates, the group can ended exploration of the themes that emerge in a
be a very effective means of helping to ground the group. Such amplification helps the patient
member in e veryday reality. become more aware of hidden aspects of self—or
opposites that the person is fearful of facing. In
addition, as a result of the amplification, the
Avoiding Polarization
patient may become aware of the similarities that
To encourage patients in a group to appreciate his or her unconscious material has to common
their wholeness and complexity, analysts help a cultural themes, myths, and narratives expressed
patient hold a “both/and” attitude toward by other group members. This awareness can help
seemingly irreconcilable positions. The analyst foster a sense of connectedness and appreciation
encourages group members to avoid becoming of others.
polarized and tries to have them accept all aspects
of their selves. In addition, sometimes group
Therapeutic Process
members will become locked in positions toward
one another—as if their position alone holds the Although the principles of analytical p sychotherapy
truth. A Jungian group therapist encourages all can be applied in group or workshop settings that
group members to help each other see multiple are as brief as a few hours or a weekend, Jungian
perspectives. Jungian group psychotherapy analytical psychotherapy in groups more typically
encourages personal growth in each member by requires a long-term commitment from both
challenging his or her fixed and rigid viewpoints patients and therapists. Regardless of the length of
and requiring each member to experiment with the the therapy, a Jungian group therapist consistently
multiple competing perspectives. attends to the strivings for individuation that he or
she observes in each patient. Analysis is concluded
An Alchemical Approach to Transference when the analyst, most group members, and the
individual group member all believe that the
An analyst who approaches clients with alchemy
member has been able to confidently express more
in mind will be aware of the mutual nature of the
of his or her unconscious potential, has come to
transference, and he or she may be more inclined
terms with his or her complex nature, and has
to self-disclosure as a result. The exchange of
developed a vital connection with his or her own
influence can result in the analyst’s vulnerable and
unconscious.
related attitude toward the patient. The group
therapist also encourages this attitude between the Justin Hecht
(c) 2015 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Jungian Group Psychotherapy 597
See also Classical Psychoanalytic Approaches: Overview; Jung, C. G. (1946). The psychology of the transference. In
Ego Psychology; Existential-Humanistic Therapies: Collected works (Vol. 16, p. 233) Princeton, NJ:
Overview; Freudian Psychoanalysis Princeton University Press.
Jung, C. G. (1952). Symbols of transformation. In
Collected works (Vol. 5, pp. 121–444). Princeton, NJ:
Further Readings Princeton University Press.
Jung, C. G. (1957). The transcendent function. In
Edinger, E. (1972). Ego and archetype. Boston, MA:
Collected works (Vol. 8, p. 69). Princeton, NJ:
Shambala.
Princeton University Press.
Hecht, J. B. (2011). Becoming who we are in groups: One
Jung, C. G. (1964). Man and his symbols. New York, NY:
Jungian’s approach to group psychotherapy. GROUP,
Bantam Doubleday Dell.
35(2), 151–165.
Jung, C. G. (1943). Individuation. In Collected works
(Vol. 7, p. 173). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press. J T
UNGIAN HERAPY
Jung, C. G. (1943). Individuation: The mana-personality.
In Collected works (Vol. 7, p. 238). Princeton, NJ:
See
Princeton University Press. Analytical Psychology
(c) 2015 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
K
child, assembled the chassis of an old car to have
K , G
ELLY EORGE
transport to attend school. When the car proved
unreliable, he, at age 13, left home to continue his
George Kelly (1905–1967) developed personal education, living with family in Wichita, Kansas.
construct theory (PCT), a theoretical approach to In the period between his graduation from Park
personality theory and therapeutic intervention. College, Missouri, in 1926, majoring in mathemat-
PCT is a pragmatic approach, emphasizing the ics and physics, and the completion of his Ph.D. in
usefulness of beliefs, feelings, and actions rather psychology in 1931 at the University of Iowa, he
than their veracity. A distinguishing feature is undertook courses in sociology and labor relations
emphasis on sense making involving discrimina- and subsequently completed a teaching qualifica-
tions, whereby some things are seen as similar to tion in education at the University of Edinburgh as
and different from certain other things, with both an exchange student. While studying, he held a
similarity and difference essential for understand- variety of part-time jobs in the increasingly d ifficult
ing people’s functioning. The originality and economic conditions of the Great Depression,
breadth of his perspective drew on varied life including teaching speech, drama, and public
experiences and extensive practice and evaluation speaking, and working as an aeronautical engineer
of therapeutic intervention. for an aircraft manufacturing company. He
In a 1969 essay titled The Autobiography of a completed his Ph.D. in 9 months, with a thesis on
Theory, Kelly gives an account of the develop- reading and speech disabilities. Two days after his
ment of his theoretical ideas, which includes a graduation, he married Gladys Thompson.
broad-ranging theory not only about the pro- In 1931, the Kellys left for Hays, Kansas, where
cesses of therapy but also concerning the function- Kelly would occupy a psychology teaching post at
ing of people more generally. He detailed key Fort Hays Kansas State College. Although
events that led to his insights, not because he interested in physiological psychology, the
regarded these insights as shaped by those situa- circumstances he saw around him—great poverty,
tions but because these were events that he had deprivation, and, as drought turned the area into a
necessarily made sense of. But it was he, Kelly, dust bowl, starvation—could not be ignored. This
who was the active agent in this process, rather led to much experimentation as Kelly sought to
than being passively molded by his environment. mobilize whatever skills he could to improve the
Kelly was an only child, born in 1905 near lot of those in need. Kelly had begun to recognize
Perth, Kansas. His parents were farmers. The area that what seemed true of himself, particularly his
was isolated and sparsely populated, and his for- active nature, was also true of others. Those
mal schooling was intermittent. Self-reliance and enduring these limiting, devastating circumstances
invention were essential, and Kelly, a determined were not merely passive victims; there remained
599
(c) 2015 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
600 Kelly, George
available choices and possibilities that they could actions and therapy. He explored how the roles we
implement to improve their lives. Helping people commit ourselves to and the actions that underlie
access those alternatives was the key to therapeutic such commitments can, in and of themselves, lead to
intervention. change. He and his students evaluated a type of role
When a 12-year-old child with school-related therapy in which the client experiments with living
issues was referred to the psychology department an alternate role temporarily. This technique, fixed-
at Fort Hays Kansas State College, Kelly set the role therapy, produced positive results. For fixed-
child’s evaluation as a class exercise. This proved role therapy clients, the alternate role was not so
an effective learning tool and resulted in a positive much the authentic way to continue life as an invita-
outcome for those involved, including the child. tion to explore and evaluate different ways of living.
Consequently, in 1932, Kelly set up a p sychological Kelly initiated many therapeutic practices that
clinic that offered free diagnostic, therapeutic, and are now widely accepted. Such practices include a
assessment services, staffed by himself and trained detailed procedures manual for clinic workers, with
students. This service subsequently expanded, with an extensive list of ethical practices; evaluation of
the establishment of traveling and satellite branch therapy effectiveness, which included postinterven-
clinics, a model for subsequent community mental tion follow-ups; and methods for i nitial assessment
health centers. and subsequent evaluation, including the sorting of
The establishment and running of the clinic was self-descriptive terms, predating the Q-sort, and the
a steep learning curve, given Kelly’s limited t raining rating of self and others on bipolar dimensions (e.g.,
in clinical psychology and the absence of similar intelligent/stupid, lovable/unappealing), predating
models for such a service. Applying diagnostic semantic differential methodology.
labels proved pointless because of isolation from During World War II, Kelly and his family
support services to which patients could be referred. moved to Washington, where Kelly worked in the
Returning to psychoanalysis, which he had U.S. Navy’s Aviation division. After the war, in
previously rejected, Kelly was impressed by 1946, Kelly became the clinical psychology d irector
Sigmund Freud’s clinical understanding. The at Ohio State University. He aimed to reorganize
interpretations Kelly offered clients often brought the department and place it at the forefront of
them profound relief. But Kelly was wary of clinical training. In preparation for publishing his
dogmatism and certainties and became discomfited theoretical insights, Kelly met weekly with
by his “insights.” He cautiously experimented with postgraduates, reading sections of his writings for
increasingly preposterous interpretations, offered discussion and criticism. The first formal
to clients in the same way as his former “real” presentation of his theory occurred in 1951, when
ones—and they frequently worked. He realized he presented a paper titled “The Psychology of
that what clients needed was not necessarily a Personal Constructs,” which eventually became
“correct” interpretation of their situation but the title of his book, published in 1955.
novel ways of looking at it. Clients were taken in a The world, Kelly argued, is not given to us
different direction and given a framework that prepackaged in interpretable parcels. We,
prepared them for the events ahead. throughout our development, make discriminations
Because of staffing and other resourcing issues, about the world we experience, though we may
the clinic was forced to wait-list clients, and Kelly not be able to verbalize them. We start to see
suggested that, in the meantime, those future patterns, with some things similar to or different
clients might be helpful to another distressed from other things. Initially, these discriminations
person. Often though, when those who had adopted are fairly primitive. For example, young children
his suggestion were removed from the wait list and may regard all small four-legged animals as
offered therapy, they thought therapy was now “doggies.” But children continue to notice further
unnecessary; their altruistic actions had given them differences: Doggies bark, but kitties purr. Others
a new perspective. The problem had not necessarily help them make further useful distinctions, such as
gone away, but it had become manageable. between those animals that might bite and those
Such insights and Kelly’s interest in drama that will not. Kelly termed these contrasts
formed links to another approach to u nderstanding “personal constructs.” These differentiations are
(c) 2015 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
