Finding Truth in Constructivist Psychotherapy Essay -- Psychotherapy S

Finding Truth in Constructivist Psychotherapy Science is a construction of the human mind. The theories, approaches, and methods that are used in any scientific field have gradually developed over time to become an objective standard of evaluation. As science continues to evolve, new approaches to obtaining knowledge about the world around us must be considered, and at the same time these new approaches must be evaluated within the present context of what is considered to be science. In doing so, conflict and confusion will arise as new concepts meet the critical evaluation of the old. The appraisal of and criticism of a new approach to psychological therapy is one example of such a situation. By looking at the evaluation of constructivist psychotherapy, one can bring this conflict and confusion into the light of understanding. Since its dawning at the turn of the century, psychotherapy has faced a myriad of objections in regard to its validity as a scientific practice. With the introduction of psychoanalysis in the late 1800’s, Freud opened the doors to a field that would mature as the next one hundred years progressed. Throughout its evolution, psychotherapy has been evaluated for its capacity to deal with clients on an individual basis and at the same time maintain the objective viewpoint which science requires. In what Robert Neimeyer considers a "postmodern context" of scientific, social and political themes, a new philosophical approach to psychotherapy has developed. This approach, called constructivism, is based on a subjective interpretation of reality and how that interpretation affects human thought processes. In "An Appraisal of Constructivist Psychotherapies", Neimeyer looks at how constructivism has devel... ...ury. The world of classical Newtonian physics was turned upside down and inside out with the arrival of a new class of physicists and astronomers. At the head of that class was a young German scientist named Einstein, who with his theory of relativity redefined our concept of mass, energy, and the like. Now that we bring the second half of this century to a close, perhaps psychology is also ready for such a revolution. Certainly, parallels can be made to what is currently going on in the world of psychotherapy. New approaches are developing under the influence of a changing social conscience. The classical approaches to patient therapy revolve around traditional cognitive perspectives, which follow a linear, systematic set of guidelines. The constructivist approach to is a much more complex, yet encompassing form of psychotherapy that deserves continual exploration.