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Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences pp 1–3Cite as

Fixed Role Therapy

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Definition

A form of brief, constructivist therapy in which the client enacts a make-believe character drafted by the therapist to portray an alternative identity for a fixed period of time, typically 2 weeks. Rather than teaching specific social skills, the enactment is intended to convey to the client that change in one’s outlook and social role is possible at any time, if one is willing to try on an alternative way to approach one’s life, including its challenges.

Related Terms

Personal construct therapy; Role therapy

As the original brief psychotherapy, fixed-role therapy (FRT) was pioneered by American psychologist George Kelly in the late 1930s to foster rapid personal growth and resilience in the urgent context of the Great Depression, and it has come to be used in a great range of clinical settings in the decades since. Like personal construct theory (PCT), the overarching theory of personality and clinical psychology of which it was part, this active experimental approach to...

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References

  • Abe, H., Imai, S., & Nedate, K. (2011). Effects of fixed-role therapy applying decision-making theory on social anxiety. Japanese Journal of Counseling Science, 44(1), 1–9.

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  • Dalton, P. (2009). A constructivist approach to depression. International Journal of Psychotherapy, 13(2), 26–31.

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  • Horley, J. (2006). Personal construct psychotherapy: Fixed-role therapy with forensic clients. Journal of Sexual Aggression, 12(1), 53–61.

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  • Kelly, G. A. (1955). The psychology of personal constructs. New York: Norton.

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  • Neimeyer, R. A., Ray, L., Hardison, H., Raina, K., Kelly, R., & Krantz, J. (2003). Fixed role in a fishbowl: Consultation-based fixed role therapy as a pedagogical technique. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 16, 243–271.

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  • Neimeyer, R. A., & Winter, D. A. (2006). Personal construct therapy. In N. Kazantzis & L. L’Abate (Eds.), Handbook of homework assignments in psychotherapy. New York: Kluwer.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA

    Robert A. Neimeyer

Authors
  1. Robert A. Neimeyer
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Correspondence to Robert A. Neimeyer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

    Bradley A. Green

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

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Neimeyer, R.A. (2016). Fixed Role Therapy. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_897-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_897-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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