World reconstruction in psychotherapy

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to articulate how we, as psychotherapists, can transform the worlds of our clients. In part one of the article, the concept of "world," the dynamics of how worlds operate, and the clinically relevant notions of "problematic worlds" and "impossible worlds" are explicated. In part two, therapeutic recommendations for helping clients to reconstruct their worlds are presented, with special emphasis on problems of grief, posttraumatic stress disorder, and the experience of meaninglessness.