Abstract
M.A. (Psychology)
Essentially constructionism suggests that there are various
realities, each revealing an aspect of a constructed
"truth" which may change across time, culture, context and
therapist and is therefore relative. It follows that causal
connections are arbitrary punctuations which are merely the
subjective opinion of the observer and not the objective
reality.
Although knowledge is relative, by means of mutual perceptions,
consensual insights are arrived at which are awarded
truth status at a certain point and in a certain culture.
The use of two such modern consensual realities in psychology,
the Thematic Apperception Test and therapist descriptions,
implemented in this thesis, lead us to an issue in
the constructionism debate which has yet to be resolved,
namely: what is the status of pragmatism in constructionism?
In this thesis the issue is discussed and the view
taken that pragmatism, with certain reservations, does
belong to constructionism.
As the debate regarding constructionism only recently
gained momentum in therapeutic psychology, it is still of a
theoretical nature and hardly any literature is available
addressing the practical aspects of constructionist therapy.
However, certain guidelines for a constructionist-type
therapy could be identified from the literature.
Constructionist therapy assumes a co-operative, respecting
therapeutic stance. The members of the client system are
regarded as experts on their own problem, and the therapist
refrains from the prescribing solutions, relying on the
client himself to find new opinions and realities, in his
life. The therapeutic process is not aimed at disclosing or
representing reality by means of language, but at presenting
new realities for consideration which tie in with a
particular clients' unique way of giving meaning to his own
life. In this way the client is placed in a new observing
situation with impact to himself and his own problem, enabling
him to reach other realities regarding his problem...