Positioning in the therapist's inner conversation: a dialogical model based on a grounded theory analysis of therapist reflections.
In recent years, a dialogical perspective has emerged in the family therapy field in which the therapist's inner conversation is conceptualized as a dialogical self. In this study, we analyze the data of a grounded theory study of therapist reflections and we portray the therapist's self as a dynamic multiplicity of inner positions embodied as voices, having dialogical relationships in terms of questions and answers or agreement and disagreement. We propose a descriptive model of the therapist's inner conversation with four positions. In this model, each of the four positions represents a concern of the therapist: attending to the client's process, processing the client's story, focusing on the therapist's own experience, and managing the therapeutic process. Detailed analyses of vignettes of therapist reflections illustrate the model, and implications of this model for training and supervision are considered.
Rober
Peter
P
K.U. Leuven, Belgium. peter.rober@skynet.be
Elliott
Robert
R
Buysse
Ann
A
Loots
Gerrit
G
De Corte
Kim
K
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003071:Cognition; D003142:Communication; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D005196:Family Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010819:Physician's Role; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires