The grid technique: what does it consist of and how is it applied?

In therapy, there are many psychological currents from which to address a problem. Now, in all cases, An initial evaluation is necessary to determine the areas to work. To achieve this goal, different methods can be used; among them, the grid technique.

This technique could be considered a semi-structured interview that allows us to understand the internal organization of the person; That is, it brings us closer to the particular way that that individual has of understanding his or her reality and interpreting experiences. Only by understanding his point of view can we offer appropriate solutions to his demands. That is why this technique has so much value.

What is the grid technique?

The grid technique is a psychological evaluation instrument created by George Kelly in 1995. It is framed within the theory of personal constructs, an approach that states that People make sense of our environment and our experiences through various personal constructions.. That is, reality is subjective and each individual creates their own meanings.

It is precisely these meanings (or this personal way of organizing knowledge) that are intended to be discovered through the grid technique. Thus, its main characteristics are the following:

Its objective is to explain the system beliefs characteristic of the person.It is a technique focused on the individual, since It is built based on the words or ideas of the interviewee and not based on the theoretical constructs of the interviewer.It is a subjective and qualitative techniquesince it does not seek to compare or measure the person’s responses, but rather to deeply understand their internal world.

The main objective of the grid technique is to know the person’s belief system.

How is the grid technique applied?

When applying this evaluation technique, interviewer and interviewee work together to shape a matrix that will graphically represent the person’s main beliefs. Thus, it is a three-part process.

Items

First of all, on a blank sheet of paper, The names of some of the most important people in the interviewee’s life are placed from left to right.. They can be family, friends, co-workers, bosses or even famous people who serve as inspiration.

It is also interesting to add people who are no longer part of the present (such as ex-partners or former teachers) or who represent a negative meaning. Besides, It is important to include some elements of one’s own identity of the interviewee, for example:

The current self (who I am right now). The ideal self (who I would like to be). Myself before presenting the symptom. Myself when I suffer from the symptom.

Constructs

Secondly, from top to bottom and In the left area of ​​the page we have to capture attributes that may be significant for the person. These constructs are bipolar (soft-rough, light-dark, good-bad), but also dimensional, since they cover a wide range of possibilities between both poles. Furthermore, they arise from experience. That is, when observing, for example, a person who talks a lot and another who barely expresses himself, the talkative-quiet construct may emerge.

Each of us has core constructs that are the first ones we turn to to give shape and meaning to our experiences. And these are the ones that are reflected in the grid. For it, The elements (people) designated in the first step are related, confronting them two by two. For example:

What do your mother and father have in common? If the answer was “they are very generous”, we would have to ask: what is the antonym of generous? In this way we would obtain, for example, the generous-selfish construct.What similarity is there between your best friend and your old teacher? Following the sequence of previous questions, one could obtain, for example, the smart-dumb construct.

We will continue confronting the different elements and placing, from top to bottom, the constructs that emerge.

Rack

For this last step, we must classify each of the elements in relation to the different constructs. We will do this using a scale that can range, for example, from 1 to 7.

So, We have to ask ourselves what score each person would obtain in the attributes we have obtained.. We will start with the first one and we will place the different scores under its name; Next, we will do the same with all the others.

Finally, we will obtain a matrix (a kind of table) that will be capturing graphically:

Who are they the most relevant people in the life of the intervieweeWhat are they the main constructs used to interpret and understand the worldWhat positions do each of these people occupy in these categories? main meaning

What kind of information can we obtain from the grid technique?

Once the grid is completed, we can access valuable information about the way in which the interviewee organizes their experience. Some data can be obtained directly from the matrix drawn on paper; But, for a more in-depth analysis, we can use a computer program that allows us to identify and, above all, represent relationships that we are interested in working on.

In a qualitative analysis we can seeFor example:

What type of attributes predominate? Some people tend to more frequently choose constructs related to intellect (such as intelligent-dumb), others to personal relationships (generous-selfish), others to affectivity (empathic-insensitive). This gives us an idea of ​​what areas are most relevant to this person. What positions are the elements in? At first glance we may be able to see that all people score high or low on a dimension.. For example, perhaps most of the elements are located near the “insensitive” pole. This would lead us to ask ourselves why the patient / client associates himself with this type of people or why he perceives them in this way.Are there striking associations? For example, the ex-partner may be placed (due to his or her scores) in a very close position to the father. Or, perhaps, the ideal self is very similar to the best friend. From these findings we can ask ourselves interesting questions and extract objectives to work on. Can we identify possible conflicts or dilemmas? This occurs when a desired construct (such as “good person”) is graphically located very close to another that is rejected (for example: being submissive).

This technique provides valuable information about how the person organizes the experience.

A belief exploration technique

As you can see, the grid technique is an instrument for exploring the internal world and the most deeply rooted functional beliefs. Can be very useful in a psychotherapy process to identify disorders and conflicts, see where they arise from and intervene to solve them. But, in addition, this technique has other uses.

For example, it can be used in a decision-making process or in a therapeutic work of change even if there is no type of pathology. This may be the case of a person who wants to polish or modify some aspects of their personality but is resistant to doing so.

Also is commonly used as a technique vocational orientation. In this case, adding the different studies as elements, the person’s academic and vocational preferences and aspirations can be identified, in order to decide about his professional development.

In sum It is a tool that provides very complete information and that can be used for various purposes. Despite the complexity of its application and interpretation, it can be very useful in psychotherapeutic evaluations.

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