Advancing Personal Construct Psychology: Interdisciplinary Perspectives and Applications

In the mid-twentieth century, personal construct psychology emerged as a groundbreaking alternative to the predominant Freudian psychoanalysis and behaviorism, conceptualized by George Kelly. Despite its innovative approach, challenges such as its complex formal structure and the specialized terminology used have limited its broader acceptance and exploration. Recently, however, the resurgence of constructivist perspectives within psychology and psychotherapy has prompted a renewed interest in Kelly’s theory, particularly how it integrates with contemporary discussions on personal knowledge, aiding in its evolution and expanded application.

This Research Topic aims to assemble a diverse collection of articles that embody and advance this elaboration by emphasizing the relational, narrative, and phenomenological aspects that are rooted in, but not fully expressed within, Kelly’s original works. The goal is to underscore these dimensions and explore how they can be expanded and integrated into current psychotherapeutic practices and psychological theories.

To delve deeper into these revisited constructs, this collection seeks contributions that cover a range of topics. Notable themes of interest include:

• The philosophical underpinnings of personal construct theory
• The integration of personal construct psychology and psychotherapy within contemporary constructivist frameworks
• Exploration of personal psychological processes from a relational perspective
• Insights into phenomenological aspects like intersubjectivity within the theory
• Narrative reinterpretations of constructive psychological processes
• New hypotheses on personal development from early relational experiences
• Applications of personal construct psychology to various fields such as developmental, organizational, and health psychology
• Extensions of personal construct psychotherapy to collective settings like couples, families, and groups
• The relevance of personal construct approaches to addressing global psychological issues

Keywords: Personal construct theory, personal construct psychology, personal construct psychotherapy, relational psychology, narrative psychology, phenomenology

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.