The social–cognitive construction of psychotherapeutic change: Bridging social constructionism and cognitive constructivism.

Self-with-other processing and construction play an important role in human adjustment, development, and change. This idea is critical for an adequate understanding of psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic change. A theory of psychotherapeutic change that combines elements of both social constructionist and cognitive constructivist thought is presented briefly. After reviewing salient examples of both forms of thought as these have manifested in theorizing about psychotherapeutic change, a sampling of original empirical demonstrations is offered in support of the theory. Psychotherapeutic change is described as a process of appropriation and practical application through which clients internalize therapeutic conversations and activities, which they then use as psychological tools to restructure personal theories, experiences, and actions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)