Self as a Society of I‐Positions: A Dialogical Approach to Counseling

Building on James's ( ) idea of an extended self and Bakhtin's (1929/1973) metaphor of the polyphonic novel, a dialogical theory of counseling is exposed in which the self is considered as a minisociety of relatively autonomous I‐positions that simultaneously function as part of the larger society. At the heart of the theoretical framework are two mutually complementing movements in the self‐space: decentering movements that are prominent in postmodern conceptions of the self and centering movements that are at the core of the modern self. Typically, decentering movements lead to disorganization, crisis, and fragmentation in the self, although they may also be expressed in adventure and exploration of the unknown. Centering movements serve as facilitators of coherence, continuity, and unity and are needed to create some order in the self. Selected parts of a case study are used to show how decentering movements are expressed in the process of being positioned in an often unexpected diversity of confusing situations and how centering movements are articulated in the form of third positions, coalitions of positions, metapositions, and promoter positions. The theory invites the counselor to stretch the space of the self to different and opposite sides to find valuable elements that are then combined in a diversified and tension‐filled, but coherent, whole.