Let's Talk: Using Personal Construct Psychology to Support Children and Young People (Lucky Duck Books) [Paperback]

'I enjoyed reading this book and could envisage the value of the Let's Talk programme. The simplicity of the book and the relaxed writing style belie the complexity of the ideas that underpin it...I would recommend this book to people who wish to increase their understanding of the meanings that experiences can have for the individuals with whom they work. The links the author makes between increased understanding and the potential avenues for change makes this a very practical and useful book'
- Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs

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'This book provides a useful introduction to the world of personal construct psychology and its application and offers a well-balanced mix of theory and practice... It should appeal not only to psychologists but also to parents and teachers, particularly behaviour support teachers, and indeed to any adult seeking to understand children's behaviour '
- Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs

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'Simon Burnham has devised a very accessible publication that lives up to its title and has found a new and exciting way of presenting PCP to professionals working with children.I highly recommend it to all professionals who wish to develop more effective practice. I am now joining the Simon Burnham fan club!' -
Personal Construct Psychology Association

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'Everything Simon covers is in conversational style and supported by many, many excellent examples....All very enjoyable and so many illuminating ideas....I would recommend anyone working with children to read it and also those who work with adults who have communication problems' -
Fay Fransella, Centre for PCP

Includes CD-Rom

'If you want to know what's wrong with someone, ask them - they may tell you!'

Kelly, in Bannister and Fransella (1986)

This quote from George Kelly, originator of Personal Construct Psychology (PCP), illustrates with humour his important theory that each one of us has developed a very personal and individual system for making sense of the world. The ways in which we think, feel about and understand the world around us all depend on the nature of this system of personal constructs we have devised. In order to make sense of the behaviour of another person we have to begin by understanding his or her personal constructs, which means talking to them and asking them to talk about themselves.

Simon Burnham is a practitioner who uses and teaches personal construct theory and has written a practical book which;

- introduces the theory in an accessible way

- provides exercises and examples to illustrate the relevance of PCP to all our lives

- explains how to use PCP in support and interview sessions with young people

- extends its use into the practice of advocacy and representation.

Readers attempting to understand the views and motivations of children and young people, and representing or explaining these views to others, will find that this book offers valuable practical ways to enhance the work they do. The book sets out to influence practice and includes a PowerPoint interview and assessment session which can be used with a child or young person via a laptop or PC and printed to provide a structure for recording the outcomes of the discussion.

Psychology is over-burdened with theories and techniques that encourage practitioners to make somebody else's sense of what people do and say. Personal Construct Psychology has a lot to offer people who want to try and find out what sense individuals themselves make of who they are and what they' re doing.

With this in mind I wanted to write a book about PCP that would be useful to psychologists and other professionals but also accessible to a non-specialist, more general audience. The book assumes no prior knowledge of PCP but certainly sets out to be more than a primer. I've tried to include sufficient theory to honour the depth and breadth of Kelly's ideas whilst keeping a practical focus throughout; the reader is often asked to apply the ideas being discussed to their own life experience.

The CD Rom contains a resource in PowerPoint format that I have found very valuable when trying to encourage children and young people to talk about themselves and their lives. Used on a laptop or PC it can help structure a conversation and engage a young person who might find reflection difficult.

Simon Burnham is a Senior Educational Psychologist in Portsmouth and Field Tutor to the professional training course for educational psychologists at Southampton University, with particular interests in literacy development, personal construct psychology, dynamic/interactive assessment and auto/biography. His own professional training as a psychologist began at Birmingham University where he first encountered Kelly s ideas and began to put them into practice in casework with children and young people. In addition to his work as a manager within the psychology service, recent and current responsibilities include chairing the city's multi-professional ADHD strategy group and an advisory role on the city's Adoption Panel. His Doctoral research is about evidence-based thinking and practice in applied psychology.