Kelly, who was not trained as a clinical psychologist, tried a number of approaches to helping emotionally disturbed individuals. He found that anything that caused his clients to view themselves and their problems differently resulted in improvement. Because of this observation, Kelly concluded that mental problems are really perceptual problems, and he maintained that humans are free to construe themselves and the world in any way they choose. They do this by creating a construct system that is, or should be, tested empirically. Any number of constructs can be used to construe any situation. That is, one can always view the world in a variety of ways, so how one views it is a matter of personal choice. Like Vaihinger, Kelly encouraged propositional thinking—experimentation with ideas to see where they lead. In fixed-role therapy, Kelly had his clients write a self-characterization; then, he
would create a role for his client to play that was distinctly different from the client’s personality. By offering the client support and help in playing his or her role, Kelly became a supporting actor and helped the client to view himself or herself differently. Once the client saw that there were alternative ways of viewing one’s self,one’s life,and one’s problems,improvement often resulted. According to Kelly, neurotics have lost their ability to “make believe,” and it is the therapist’s task to restore it. Kelley’s fixed-role therapy can be seen as an early version of narrative therapy.