Constructivism: A Force Shaping the Contemporary Understanding and Practices of Counseling

Abstract

This article discusses the ingredients of constructivist approach within a globalization framework, including the changing life standards, family structures, social values, and attitudes that resulted in the inreasing interest in human rights, multiculturalism, diversity of groups of people,- cultural-diversity, spirituality and the reflections of them to the fields of counseling and psychotherapy in the postmodern era. The changing needs of people and communities as well as the conceptual changes and developments in the field of counseling, were summarized. Further, instead of individualist therapies, quantitative measures, conscious behavior, and objective reality, tacit experiences, therapies concerned with social and cultural context and subjectivism were acknowledged in the 21st century context. The inadequacy of existing theories and methodologies in meeting the changing needs of the people and communities which resulted in a need of a metatheory for meeting the differentiated needs of people in the postmodern era were explicated and constructivism in which new forms of counseling and psychotherapy were involved was claimed to be the metatheory to meet such a need.

Keywords

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Yapılandırmacı Yaklaşım: Çağdaş Psikolojik Danışma Anlayışını ve Uygulamalarını Biçimlendiren Bir Güç

Abstract

Bu çalışmada, küreselleşme ve bilgi çağının etkisiyle yaşam standartlarının, aile yapısının ve sosyal değer ve tutumların değişmesine bağlı olarak insan hakları, çokkültürlülük, çeşitlilik (dil, din, yaş, cinsel tercihler, etnik köken), kültürel çeşitlilik ve tinsellik gibi kavramları içine alan ve postmodernizmin bir sonucu olarak ortaya çıkan yapılandırmacılık yaklaşımının psikolojik danışma alanındaki yansımaları tartışılmıştır. Bireylerin ve toplumların değişen ihtiyaçlarıyla birlikte psikoloji ve psikolojik danışma alanında yaşanan önemli kavramsal değişmeler ve gelişmeler tarihsel olarak özetlenmiştir. Yirmibirinci yüzyılda, psikolojik danışma alanında, birey odaklı terapi yaklaşımlarının, nicel ölçme yöntemlerinin, yordanabilir bilinçli insan davranışlarının, nesnel gerçeklik kavramlarının yerlerini sosyal ve kültürel değişmeyi hedefleyen terapi yaklaşımlarına, nitel yöntemlere, insan deneyimlerindeki gizli kalmış yönlerin keşfedilmesini amaçlayan yaklaşımlara ve öznel gerçekliğe bıraktığı üzerinde durulmuştur. Postmodern çağda varolan kuramların ve yöntemlerin, birey ve toplumların değişen gereksinimlerini karşılamada yetersiz kaldıklarının farkedilmesi sonucunda, yeni gereksinimlere cevap verebilecek bir üst kuram (meta – kuram) boşluğunu psikolojik danışma’nın çağdaş formlarının tanımlandığı yapılandırmacı yaklaşımın karşıladığı öne sürülmüştür.

Keywords

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