Kw. Sewell et al., MULTIPLE SELF-AWARENESS GROUP - FORMAT AND APPLICATION TO A PERSONAL GROWTH EXPERIENCE, Journal of constructivist psychology, 11(1), 1998, pp. 59-78
The ''self'' has long been studied and accommodated in personality the
ories and in philosophies and Eastern religions. Constructivists have
acknowledged the importance of an individual's construction of the sel
f both in the realm of clinical research and in psychotherapy. Recent
conceptions of self include a nonpathological multiplicity metaphor; i
n other words, healthy persons can be seen as possessing multiple selv
es. Originally designed for individual therapy, a set of exercises ori
ented toward elaboration of multiple self personae (called multiple se
lf awareness; MSA) was adapted and applied to a personal growth therap
y group. This article describes the constructivist rationale for the e
xercises and format, then details its application in the group setting
. Specific examples are provided to illustrate the processes evoked by
MSA. Inferences are offered regarding the nature of the processes und
erlying the use of this therapeutic format.