Paradigms of Counseling and Psychotherapy, Revisited: Is Social Constructivism a Paradigm?

Abstract

This article revisits the criteria outlined for definition of “paradigms” of counseling and psychotherapy. It defines the emergence of social constructivism as a philosophy with implications for counseling and psychotherapy. It delimits social constructivism by proposing several social constructivist tenets. Social constructivism is assessed against paradigm criteria, and an opinion is offered as to whether social constructivism represents a paradigm of counseling and psychotherapy. Implications of the paradigm analysis for the practice of mental health counseling are outlined.