Exploring situations and problems with children: the ESP cards Ep.29

Drawing the Ideal Self (Personal Construct Psychology - PCP)

The Exploring Situations and Problems (ESP) cards are a new tool for exploring construing in children. They might be useful if your time with a child is very limited, or you need something to use with children with poor attention or are not easy to engage. The cards can be the beginning of a PCP elaboration and an in-depth exploration of the constructs.

The ESP cards are used to create a storyboard of a child’s day, in order to help them to explain which parts of the day they find difficult, and to help them to reflect on what happens at those moments. The images and text provide an emergent pole of a construct to get the discussion going. These cards may be particularly useful for working with children who find it difficult to tell you how they construe situations, or to explain what happens when things go wrong for them. There are some rating scales included, so you can use the cards in the most accessible way.

The ESP cards are available from my website: drawingtheidealself.co.uk.