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THE INTERNET ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF
PERSONAL CONSTRUCT PSYCHOLOGY |
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| Main Page |
| Contents |
| Alphabetical Index |
| Hints for prints |
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| Impressum |
| Fixed-role therapy | |
| Fixed-role therapy is one of the
few therapeutic techniques devised by George Kelly
(1955). The usual procedure is that the client is asked to write a self-characterisation
and, drawing upon this, the therapist writes a sketch of a new
character which the client, if s/he finds it plausible, is asked to
enact for two
weeks. This character will not be someone who is the complete opposite
of
the client but instead is likely to introduce some new construct
orthogonal
to the client’s major existing construct dimensions. During the enactment
period, the client is encouraged to "become" the new character, and
several
therapy sessions will be held in which the client rehearses the role,
focusing
on situations which s/he is likely to enter outside the therapy room.
The
aim of the exercise is not to transform the client permanently into the
new
character but rather to encourage experimentation and provide "one
good,
rousing, construct-shaking experience" (Kelly, 1955, p. 412). There have been several variations in the fixed-role procedure, including applications of it by Kelly and others in the group setting (e.g. Epting and Nazarion, 1987) and in marital therapy (Kremsdorf, 1985). There has also been some research evidence of the effectiveness of fixed-role procedures, although some of these depart markedly from Kelly’s original method (Karst and Trexler, 1970: Lira et al., 1975; Beail and Parker, 1991). |
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| References |
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David A. Winter
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