The Constructive Developmental Theory of Robert Kegan

Counselors pride themselves in their developmental focus; however, they have predominantly limited themselves to applications of phasic, or life span development. Stage developmental theories have much to offer to understandings of individuals and families, and yet such theories are largely absent from the counseling literature. This article begins to remedy that absence by introducing one stage theory: Robert Kegan's subject-object theory. The article is followed in this journal by an interview with Kegan on applications of his theory to family work.