Symptoms and Significance: Constructivist Contributions to the Treatment of Performance Anxiety

Abstract

Drawing on the case study of Gabriel, a college student faced with severe performance anxiety, I illustrate the possible approach to case conceptualization and treatment that might be taken by two constructivist schools of psychotherapy—personal construct therapy and coherence therapy. In doing so, I emphasize the distinctive procedures that characterize these classic and contemporary constructivist models, which differentiate them clearly from the orientation to assessment and intervention preferred by many other approaches to cognitive therapy. Finally, I close by noting my own penchant for a personal, integrative style of therapy that finds inspiration in both personal construct and coherence models, as well as a diversity of other constructivist and social constructionist perspectives.