Abstract

This conceptual analytic dissertation considers how the effect of postmodernism on Western culture's conception of reality creates a paradigm shift for the individual such that traditional understandings of meaning, truth and gender are revised in ways that significantly impact clinical psychology's theory and practice. More specifically, the ways in which Western culture's predominant conception of meaning has traditionally been constructed is discussed . Two postmodern movements, constructivism and deconstruction are applied to logical positivism, social constructionism and language, revealing fallacies or paradoxes in their method, and the groundwork for an understanding of alternate conceptions of reality is laid. Postmodernism emerges from the discussion as a movement in contemporary thought that provides an alternative to these paradoxes or fallacies. Two postmodern therapeutic practices are defined, and discourse theory is introduced as an analytic frame through which these postmodern theories can be applied in clinical practice. Clinical case examples are presented and postmodern formulations and interventions are illustrated with particular attention to the ways in which these postmodern analyses create paradigm shifts for their patients. In summation, this paper considers how postmodernism challenges western culture's traditional, positivistic conception of reality, creating a paradigm shift that has significant implications for gender and therapy