Outlines of a general psychological theory of psychological intervention

Abstract

While everyday life is necessarily using common sense for solving practical problems, it is not sufficient for psychology’s advancement of generalized knowledge. Our recognition of the conceptual-methodological unfeasibility of the common-sense foundation of psychology raises the necessity of developing a theory of intervention that considers the psychologist’s actions as belonging to the in-between zone: while everyday life is based on common sense, the science of psychology and its practices transcend that very common sense. The relationship between general psychological knowledge and the concrete situatedness of psychologists’ practice gives the discipline a number of tension points: (a) the social construction of the client’s requests at the intersection of practical interests, general knowledge, and local social expectations; (b) how one can interpret current psychological knowledge for the grounding of professional use; and (c) the tension between the scientific knowledge and the client’s practical interest in turning to get help from psychologists. The epistemological and conceptual implications of these tension points are outlined, showing how a careful analysis of psychology as practical profession can contribute to the theoretical development of psychology.