The practice of context-centered therapy: A conversation with Jay S. Efran

What is it about?

This article presents an interview with Jay S. Efran, the developer of context-centered psychotherapy—an approach to psychotherapy greatly influenced by Humberto Maturana’s structure determinism and George Kelly’s personal construct theory. Because Efran has outlined the premises of context-centered therapy elsewhere, the interview focused on the nuts and bolts of Efran’s independent practice, with the goal of illustrating how the way he works reflects his theoretical commitments. Efran was asked how he contracts with clients, structures first sessions, conducts the therapy that follows, and brings therapy to a conclusion. In addition to discussing what he sees as the predictors of therapeutic success, he was also asked about the size of his caseload, the duration of his sessions, the number of times he typically meets with clients, whether he takes notes during sessions, his thoughts on the role of medication in therapy, and how he handles insurance and billing. The interview concludes with a case study and advice to psychotherapists-in-training. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Featured Image