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Details of our Personal Construct Psychology (PCP)
Quarterly Study Sessions 2023 are included in this flyer.
For more information please download the flyer.
Details of our Personal Construct Psychology Foundation Course for 2022 are included in this flyer. Places are limited to 16 and tend to book up fast so you are advised to contact Sally@covpcp.com if you are interested to join us this year, without delay..
For more information please download the flyer.
..UPDATE ALL BOOKS ARE GONE! ...
Our old colleague Alan Thomson is offering some books, free. Please see the list below and contact sally@covpcp.com if you would like any. You would need either to collect them, or to pay postage.
Drawing on the right side of the Brain by Betty Edwards
NLP at work by Sue Knight
Working with people by Gavin Dunnett
Personal Construct Psychology by Jorn Scher
The Theory of Personality by George Kelly
Clinical psychology and Personality: selected papers edited by Brendan Maher
New perspectives in Personal Construct Psychology by Don Bannister
Perspectives in Personal Construct Psychology by Don Bannister
Uncommon Therapy Jay Haley
Practical Magic by Stephen Langton
A Manual for Repertory Grids by Faye Fransella and Don Bannister
George Kelly by Faye Fransella
Personality and Learning by Jane Wolfson
Good health through natural therapy E K Ledermann
The Emprint Method by Leslie Cameron Bandler
BMA New Guide to Medicine by Dr John Henry
Comments made by people who participated in the PCP Foundation Course 2021 on Zoom:
I just want to say an enormous thank you to you all. It has reignited my passion for psychology and reminded me why I do the job.
I was amazed at how well both the depth of the theory and application of the tools were covered.
I felt I left with a much better understanding of the theory (and lots more reading to do) as well as tools that I could go out and use straight away.
It was a great course and I’d recommend it to colleagues. Thank you for an enriching experience.
A very interesting and enlightening course. I am so happy I had the opportunity to participate and study the foundation course.
I have added a lot to my toolbox and skill set so thank you to all of you. The structure of the sessions was great as there was a good balance of theoretical and practical input.
I think (PCP) is highly useful for my role and fully intend to further develop my skills.
I loved the course. I love PCP. I could go on and on!
They specifically liked:
- The level of interaction and group work was very good.
- Excellent presentations
- Great to be able to do the course online as otherwise it would have been very difficult.
- The variety of presenters and presenting styles.
- Practical content – having activities modelled to us and the chance to practice with each other.
- Good breakout sessions that worked.
- The demonstration videos were perfect.
- Having a book summarising everything.
- The requirement to read the relevant chapter ahead of the session was incredibly valuable.
- It ensured that a foundation understanding was I could go on and on….
Working with a Metaphor is a recently published paperback (2021 Orpen Press, Dublin) by Dr. Bernadette O’Sullivan, a former teacher in the Clanwilliam Institute of Family Therapy. Ruth Eustace contributes a chapter. This book is now available on application to the Institute.
For more information please download the flyer.
The Quarterly Study Session scheduled for June 18th from 2 to 4 p.m. will be led by Diane Allen and Sally Robbins. The title is “ Who cares, and how? Construing the transition to caring roles” The session will include a workshop element, as normal, to give participants a chance to apply PCP techniques and to have some discussion. As with our recent sessions, this will be held on Zoo, and we ask participants for a £5 contribution to our running costs. Please contact Sally on Sally@covpcp.com to book a place.
The new practical guide to using PCP has recently been published: Following on from Heather Moran’s “A beginner’s guide to Personal Construct Therapy with children and young people”, Diane Allen and Peter Cummins have produced “The beginner’s guide to Personal Construct Therapy with adults and couples". Both are available from Amazon in both kindle and paperback format, and in keeping with the rest of our activities at Coventry Constructivist Centre, they are priced affordably.
Feedback included:
- A really productive day that I will find very helpful in my practice
- Tools really relevant to my role - can pick up and use straight away
- Environment felt comfortable and relaxed - as a newcomer I felt welcome
Friday 17th of January saw the end of our PCP for Coaching course; a really enjoyable and successful programme led by Mary Frances, with input from Dorota Bourne and John Fisher. Participants now have the option of producing a written piece of work to complete the programme.
There is also talk of setting up a Special Interest Group following on from the course. If this goes ahead we will put details on this website.
Experiential Personal Construct Psychology: Selected papers, P. Cummins and L. Leitner eds. available on kindle or in paperback on Amazon UK.
Third day of the PCP for Coaching course
Day 1 of the PCP for Coaching Course. Several participants could not attend on the day, but we were joined by a colleague from Iceland who had come specially for the session.
The second day of the PCP for Coaching Course was led by Dr. Dorota Bourne of Henley Business School, pictured here with Mary Frances, the Course Coordinator.
Participants getting down to work on the second day of the course
Feedback on PCP Quarterly Study Day 13th September 2019
The PCP Quarterly Study Day 13th September 2019 was titled 'Meet the Family' and led by Sally Robbins. We started with three challenging papers which participants would normally have trouble accessing, and a through lively debate and discussion ranged from the theoretical understanding of family work in PCP through to the implications of this work in terms of practicalities in our everyday lives. There was a particular focus on eliciting non-verbal construing and participants worked together on two new techniques.
Feedback on the day was enthusiastic:
- Fabulous day on Family Construing
- Really interesting, thought provoking day
- Will be using this next week!
- Loved the creativity
PCP Quarterly Study Days - March 2019:
Young people and social media - looking through the lens of PCP
Feedback from the participants:
- Lots of thought-provoking discussion. Great to have discussion with a range of professionals.
- Really good use of examples.
- Perfectly planned and paced presentation - plenty of input and ideas with space to think and consider ways to use these ideas.
- Relaxed and purposeful day; safe to share ideas and ask questions but also learned a lot from others.
- Great treacle cake!
PCP Quarterly Study Days- September 14th 2018 PCP and Supervision
Feedback from the participants:
- An ideal session!
- Helpful and thought provoking. Useful tools/ activities to use again elsewhere. V friendly! Approachable!
- Great to have a day which meets the needs of a group with such diverse needs and roles, achieved by taking ideas from everyone and allowing people to discuss in groups what they do.
- You packed a lot into the day.
- It has made me think hard about my own practice and I came away with ideas about how I might improve.
- Great cakes too!
2018 Foundation Course participants, with tutors Diane Allen and Peter Cummins standing in back
Feedback from the participants:
- Learning more about PCP, the theory and practical application so that I am able to use it as part of my work - I have already done this during and after!
- The passionate and engaging teaching team. A really lovely bunch of people.
- Meeting other psychologists and gaining different perspectives
- I enjoyed the course very much and hope to see you at a study day in the near future
Prof Harry Procter (photo) – Using Qualitative Grids: Construing Sibling Relationships
(with a focus on developing your knowledge of using PEG grids in your practice)
Feedback:
-
brilliant range of techniques for use in clinical practice and supervision
- Harry Procter workshop was very illuminating and brought up a lot of thoughts for my working and personal life
-
Lots of usable tools. I love the flexibility that PCP and Qualitative Grids offer for my practice.
I cannot see any other way of eliciting such powerful information. Very enjoyable.
-
Thought provoking day, well presented, with clear theoretical links to practice. The flexibility in this approach is refreshing to
think about in all types of professional, clinical and personal relationships.
- Thought provoking day which made me reflect on myself in my work and family roles. Very useful, flexible grids explained.
PCP Approaches to Transgender Experiences , led by Heather Moran and Diane Allen, and with a presentation from Dr. Jenny Whyatt-Sames, a local expert on Transgender experiences (Using PCP techniques to explore and elaborate the personal construing of self and gender, and signposting further PCP techniques for different situations) ***Contact for this day – Heather Moran 07921 082 384 - heatherjmoran@yahoo.co.uk
The George Kelly Society is a multidisciplinary professional society is founded in June 2016, with the aim of supporting the study of, and communication about, the life and work of George Alexander Kelly [1905-1967], the Psychology of Personal Constructs, and Kelly's ongoing influence in the many fields to which he contributed. This includes the theoretical development and the practical applications of the Psychology of Personal Constructs, and its relationships to neighbouring fields. The George Kelly Society supports conferences, websites, journals and other media that share the goals of the society.
The Steering Committee consists of Prof Franz Desley Hennessy (Australia), Secretary/Treasurer, Prof Jörn Scheer (Germany), Information Officer, and, as Members-at-large, Dr.ssa Chiara Centomo (Italy), Prof Gabriele Chiari (Italy), Peter Cummins (UK), MA.
Membership is open to anyone interested in the life and work of George Kelly and the Psychology of Personal Constructs. Currently, no membership fees are charged.
If interested, please contact the secretary, Desley Hennessy (Leslie.Hennessy@gmail.com).
Website: www.kellysociety.org
PCPA now has its own channel on YOU TUBE. The channel can be accessed at:
PCPA YouTube channel
A really useful, up to date guide to PCP resources on the net has been produced by Professor Brian Gaines. You can access it at:
Gaines-Internet-PCP-2016a.pdf
Check out this book on the iBooks Store:
Using Personal Construct Psychology with Children and Adolescents
Heather Moran
Category: Psychology
David Green presented a workshop in Coventry on 13/3/15 called “Come back Idiographic assessment, all is forgiven-almost"
al enquiry. Miller Mair (2014)
Miller Mair’s last book has just been published. As its editor ( Simon King- Spooner) says on the cover “ Another way of knowing has the theme of a personal journey, taking in smaller themes as it feels its way forward………… It should be read by anyone tired of bullying know-all reductionism, and feeling the need for another way of knowing”.
Available direct from the publishers Lulu Press, or from Amazon.
A
review
of
a
presentation
at
the
University
of
Herts
on
12th
June
2014
given
by
Peter
Cummins
and
Dr
Dina
Pekkala.
This
day
course
was
attended
very
substantially
and
reflected
the
researched
experience
of
the
presenters
in
providing
clinical
care
for
those
referred
for
treatment
of
anger.
They
described
their
utilising
standardised
instruments,
comprehensive
survey
of
developmental
features
including
socialisation
and
abuse
and
also,
from
an
idiographic
position,
what
people
themselves
actually
say
in
the
initial
phase.
The
presenters
noted
that
sometimes
referrals
for
anger
masked
pressing
social
and
interpersonal
concerns,
more
suitable
for
the
resolution
of
normal
social
pressure
than
for
‘Anger
treatment’.
They
gave
an
account
of
their
use
of
popular
Anger
Management
strategies
that
have
owed
much
to
Ray
Novaco,
portrayed
as
helpful.
At
a
certain
point,
though,
almost
paralleling
their
treatment
progression,
the
presenters
gave
their
cardinal
view
that
it
is
structure
of
meaning
issues
that
lie
behind
anger.
In
essence,
they
demonstrated
very
clear
researchable
indications
that
anger
is
the
expression
of
some
initial
change
in
structure
of
meaning
and
subsequent
fixity.
Normally,
PCP
protagonists
blather
incomprehensibilities
about
the
theory
but
on
this
day
it
slipped
in
so
easily
how
invalidation
of
a
frame
of
meaning
can
in
the
end
lead
to
stuckness,
hostility
and,
quoting
Leitner,
“Structural
Arrest”.
We
received
many
illustrations
of
the
ways
in
which,
within
a
semi
manualised
framework
(and,
modesty
forbids,
informed
and
fluid
facilitation)
people
reconstrued
themselves
and
their
anger.
And
there
were
graphs
to
prove
it!!
In
this
day
presentation
there
was
everything
which
the
evidenced-‐based
afficionado
desired
and
also
something
more
about
wider
meaning
than
just
the
dehumanising
label
of
‘anger’.
Reference:
The
supporting
literature
is
available
in
the
text
called
“Working
with
Anger:
a
Constructivist
Approach”
by
Peter
Cummins
(2005)
and
published
by
Wiley.
If
you
are
thinking
of
running
an
anger
programme
then
this
is
well
worth
the
investment.