Offers an overview of the root metaphors and philosophical assumptions associated with formism, mechanism, contextualism, and organicism, the four world views described in Pepper's 1942 philosophical treatise and his presentation of root metaphor theory. Examines recent and historical trends of development in counseling theory and practice within…

Considers inquiry into the nature and process of change to be fundamental to the domains of counseling and psychotherapy. Clarifies distinction between first- and second-order change. Proposes that rationalist approaches to counseling are guided by first-order assumptions about change whereas constructivist approaches are based on second-order…

Increased general interest among counselors in the way language, narratives, and stories influence clients' personal and social realities has drawn particular attention to metaphorical language and its facilitative role in counseling. Suggests that metaphors and metaphorical knowing may play a significant role in facilitating at least five…

Using K. Bartholomew's (1990) 4-dimensional model of adult attachment as an organizational framework, 10 developmental personality styles are differentiated regarding their unique attachment experiences, working models of self and other, and feedforward beliefs. Implications of an attachment theory framework for counseling clients with problematic…

Used a 3 x 3 mixed factorial design to study relation between a person's dominant way of knowing (rationalism, metaphorism, empiricism) and the preference for three counseling approaches (rationalist, constructivist, behavioral) with college students (N=92). Found participants significantly preferred counseling approach hypothesized to represent…

Explores social constructionism as an alternative to cognitive therapy, which assigns causative primacy for psychological problems to the cognitive process of the individual knower. Social constructionism underscores the inextricable connection between the personal and the social, challenging the merit of decontextualized accounts of psychological…

Analyzes attachment theory's viability as an overarching framework for counseling psychology. Places particular emphasis on the integrative potential and heuristic value of the theory, arguing that it can use biological (structural), psychological (cognitive/affective), and social dimensions of experience to clarify developmental dynamics in…