ABSTRACT
The cognitive theories ensured an exploratory approach to the therapy in which guided discovery, active curiosity and sensitive Socratic questioning is drawn on to help clients use what they know to discover patterns of behaviour and alternative views for themselves, rather than the therapist suggesting them. In contrast to behaviourism and early psychoanalytic perspectives, Kelly proposed that people take an active role in the development of constructs, in that they collect, interpret and respond to information and experiences. Based on his personal construct theory, Kelly developed the repertory grid method, an interview technique which helps to identify the way a person interprets or gives meaning to their experiences and the relationship between constructs. In Cognitive Analytic Therapy terms this would form part of the reciprocal role procedure. This in turn links back to learning as a child of parents who were experienced as controlling and punishing, which prevented her from fully developing her sense of herself.
