Personal Construct Psychology – Still Going Strong at 70?

This paper considers the status of personal construct psychology (PCP) 70 years after George Kelly published his magnum opus presenting this approach. A description is provided of the basic tenets of personal construct theory, and the applications of the theory in a range of different settings is reviewed. Limitations of, and challenges that have faced, PCP are considered, including those relating to international growth, relationships with other approaches, methodology, and institutionalization. Possible ways forward are outlined, and an illustration of the potential of personal construct theory and its methodology to address global issues of topical and interdisciplinary concern is provide by considering a research program on perpetrators and victims of extreme violence. It is concluded that personal construct psychology remains healthy and of considerable contemporary relevance, but that it has unfulfilled potential in relation to explicitly addressing political issues.