Personal Construct Group Work for Adolescent Offenders: Dealing with Their Problematic Meanings

Abstract

Personal construct group work with adolescent offenders aims to elaborate their meanings. Because some of the meanings of offenders interfere with group processes, this goal can be difficult to achieve. Four of these more problematic meanings and strategies for dealing with them are considered, as well as two of their more helpful meanings. Firstly, the offenders see themselves as unknown and unknowable, action as constant, and their worlds as totally inconsistent and destroyable. Secondly, however, they can come to see temporary intimacy with others as possible and the group as ownable by its members. The impact of the problematic meanings on the group leaders is discussed, together with li..