Constructivist · 1991
Constructivist psychotherapy of human change processes
Change is neither forced nor controlled: it is facilitated by creating conditions in which your system can reorganise itself with greater complexity, greater tolerance of uncertainty and a new coherence.
Mahoney's model describes human change as an emergent process characteristic of complex, self-organising systems. People do not change in a linear or controllable way but through oscillations, crises of coherence and internal reorganisations that integrate emotion, cognition, behaviour and identity. Psychological suffering is maintained when the personal system becomes rigid in order to preserve stability in the face of threat, reducing flexibility and adaptive capacity. Psychotherapy does not direct change but creates the conditions for it to emerge: increased reflexivity, tolerance of ambiguity, dialogue between assimilation and accommodation, and safe micro-perturbations that widen the system's complexity. The therapist acts as a facilitator of the process of self-organisation, not as an external corrector.
Theory of change
A person changes when their personal system can reorganise itself with greater complexity, flexibility and tolerance of uncertainty.
Core ideas
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The human being as a self-organising, non-linear system
Mahoney conceives the person as a complex self-organising system whose behaviour, emotions and meanings emerge from dynamic patterns rather than from linear causes. Psychological change follows neither predictable nor proportionate trajectories; it occurs through internal reorganisations sensitive to context, to history and to small variations that can generate profound transformations. This view displaces mechanistic models and situates psychotherapy within the framework of complexity and emergence. (Mahoney, 1991, *Human Change Processes*).
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Change as emergent reorganisation, not as correction
Therapeutic change is not produced by directly correcting isolated thoughts, emotions or behaviours but by the global reorganisation of the personal system when previous forms of coherence cease to be viable. Psychotherapy does not impose new solutions; it creates conditions in which more flexible and complex configurations of meaning, regulation and action can emerge. The focus is on facilitating processes, not on prescribing outcomes. (Mahoney, 1991, *Human Change Processes*).
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Assimilation and accommodation as the engines of psychological development
Inspired by Piaget's genetic epistemology, Mahoney describes human change as a continuous dialogue between assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation makes it possible to integrate new experiences into existing structures, while accommodation involves modifying those structures when experience can no longer be contained within them. Psychological suffering emerges when a rigid assimilation predominates that blocks accommodation, preventing the development and reorganisation of the self. (Mahoney, 1991, *Human Change Processes*).
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Tolerance of uncertainty as a central capacity for change
The process of human change inevitably involves phases of ambiguity, instability and a temporary loss of coherence. Mahoney stresses that the capacity to tolerate uncertainty without resorting to premature closure or defensive solutions is a central requirement of psychological development. Psychotherapy helps to widen this tolerance, allowing the system to explore new configurations without collapsing or becoming rigid. (Mahoney, 1991, *Human Change Processes*).
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Reflexivity as the organising mechanism of change
Reflexivity —the capacity to observe one's own experience as a process— is one of the fundamental mechanisms of the self's reorganisation. By developing a meta-perspective on thoughts, emotions and meanings, the personal system introduces internal variation without disintegrating. This reflective observation is not purely intellectual but experiential, and it allows a more flexible self-regulation in the face of change and complexity. (Mahoney, 1991, *Human Change Processes*).
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The self as a dynamic process rather than a fixed structure
Mahoney conceives the self not as a stable entity or a set of traits but as a dynamic process of organising experience that is held in unstable equilibrium. Personal identity is sustained by patterns of coherence that can reorganise when conditions change. This conception makes it possible to understand change not as a loss of identity but as a transformation of personal continuity. (Mahoney, 1991, *Human Change Processes*).
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The non-linearity of therapeutic change
Psychological change does not advance progressively or cumulatively but through oscillations, apparent setbacks and discontinuous reorganisations. Mahoney emphasises that these fluctuations are inherent to complex systems and should not be interpreted as therapeutic failure. Understanding the non-linearity of change reduces the urge to control the process and fosters a more patient and cooperative attitude towards transformation. (Mahoney, 1991, *Human Change Processes*).
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Psychotherapy as the facilitation of conditions for change
From this perspective, psychotherapy does not act as an external corrective agent but as a facilitating context that introduces safety, sufficient perturbation and reflection so that the personal system can reorganise itself. The therapist accompanies the process of change while respecting the patient's self-organisation, avoiding the imposition of predetermined trajectories and trusting in the emergent capacity of the human system to transform itself. (Mahoney, 1991, *Human Change Processes*).
Influences
- Personal construct theory
- Cognitive psychotherapy
- Systems theory
- Genetic epistemology
- Theory of non-linear change
Key references
- Mahoney, M. J. (1991). Human Change Processes. Basic Books.
- Mahoney, M. J. (1988). Constructive Metatheory: I. Basic Features and Historical Foundations. *Journal of Constructivist Psychology*.
- Mahoney, M. J. (1995). Psychotherapy and Human Change Processes. *Journal of Constructivist Psychology*.
- Mahoney, M. J. & Lyddon, W. J. (1988). Recent Developments in Cognitive Approaches to Psychotherapy. *Cognitive Therapy and Research*.