Authority in therapeutic interaction : a conversation analytic study

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Smoliak, Olga and MacMartin, Clare and Hepburn, Alexa and Le Couteur, Amanda and Elliott, Robert and Quinn-Nilas, Christopher (2022) Authority in therapeutic interaction : a conversation analytic study. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 48 (4). pp. 961-981. ISSN 0194-472X (https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12471)

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Abstract

A paradigmatic shift toward postmodern, collaborative practice in family therapy raises questions about how therapists can use professional authority to facilitate change and how clients can assert their knowledge and agency. We used conversation analysis to investigate how the authority to know and to determine here-and-now action (i.e., who does what, and how, in therapy) was negotiated and accomplished in 10 sessions of emotion-focused therapy involving chair work. Therapists were observed to rely on a particular interactional sequence structure: stepwise entry into a directive, in which directives were preceded by a question-answer sequence. We show how instances where clients’ views were elicited prior to the delivery of a directive resulted in different interactional consequences from instances where therapists straightforwardly directed clients to perform some action. The study offers evidence concerning how therapists can facilitate chair work collaboratively and responsively.

ORCID iDs

Smoliak, Olga, MacMartin, Clare, Hepburn, Alexa, Le Couteur, Amanda, Elliott, Robert ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3527-3397 and Quinn-Nilas, Christopher;
  • Item type:Article
    ID code:74380
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    October 2022
    Published
    24 February 2021
    Published Online
    20 October 2020
    Accepted
    Notes:Final published version: Smoliak, O., MacMartin, C., Le Couteur, A., Hepburn, A., & Elliott, R. (2021). Authority in therapeutic interaction: A conversation analytic study. Journal Marital & Family Therapy. ©2020, Wiley. This is an author final version and may not exactly replicate the final version. It is not the version of record.
    Subjects:Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology
    Department:Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (HaSS) > Psychological Sciences and Health > Counselling
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:27 Oct 2020 15:26
    Last modified:11 Nov 2024 12:52
    Related URLs:
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/74380
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