La psicoterapia como proceso reconstructivo: implicaciones de las teorías integrativas para la investigación de resultados

Abstract

Psychotherapy outcome research has failed to find consistent differences in effectiveness between differing approaches to therapy. This paper discusses the application of constructivist metatheory to psychotherapy research as a potential solution to this impasse. The lack of a coherent theoretical framework has limited previous research, resulting in poorly defined and conceptually indistinct comparison groups. Although Frank's (1982) common factors hypothesis provides a potential explanation for the effectiveness of divergent treatment approaches, it does not provide the comprehensive description of human change processes necessary to predict factors that may increase therapeutic effectiveness. Personal construct (Kelly, 1955) and compatible constructivist theories provide a more comprehensive heuristic framework that not only accounts for the effectiveness of divergent approaches but also suggests potential strategies for maximizing their effectiveness.