Do Psychotherapists Use Different Construct Subsystems for Construing Clients and Acquaintances? A Repertory Grid Study

Forty-seven psychotherapists were studied to determine if they used different construct subsystems for construing clients and personal acquaintances. The sample included therapists who varied in terms of sex, age, years of experience, and clinical discipline. Subjects chose six personal acquaintances and six nonpsychotic individual therapy clients who were then used as elements in a Repertory Grid. Constructs were elicited by comparing pairs of elements; all elements were rated on the constructs. It was found that constructs elicited about one domain (clients or acquaintances) were less applicable to elements from the other domain. Therapists more often used constructs related to emotional stability when construing clients than acquaintances, whereas differences in construct content were not evident on several other dimensions. The domain of client construal exhibited greater cognitive differentiation and hierarchical organization than did that of acquaintance construal. The results suggest that therapists use different conceptual subsystems for client and acquaintance construal. Implications for the training of therapists are discussed.