An Experiment in Fixed-Role Therapy

Abstract

Kelly's Personal Construct Theory has had an enduring impact on clinical psychology within the UK and beyond. However for those seeking to apply his ideas to therapeutic work with young people there exists little in the way of systematic description and evaluation of Kellian interventions. Fixed-role Therapy, in which an individually tailored part is constructed to explore novel ways of acting and understanding, promised to be a developmentally appropriate approach for adolescents. This clinical tale therefore aims to provide a detailed account of Fixed-role Therapy conducted with an 11-year-old boy that will allow clinicians to draw their own conclusions about its therapeutic usefulness and incorporate the approach in their own practice if convinced. The fixed-role sketch is written to promote new ways of coping with the challenging behaviour of the `actor's' younger handicapped brother. As ever, things did not go entirely as the therapist had anticipated.