Therapy interactions

Over the last decade, therapy interactions have become a common field for linguists, interaction analysts, psychologists and clinicians alike. On the one hand, some linguists and conversationalists have turned their attention to the subject as a field of inquiry leading to questions which are then also posed and elaborated on in other contexts. It was in this way, for example, that the pioneering work of From this standpoint, therapy interactions are just one kind of social interaction among others, where, while respecting the specificities of their institutional and professional context, dynamics which can then be generalized are observed (the fact that Labov and Fanshel's work, mentioned above, is subtitled Psychotherapy as Conversation is not coincidental). On the other hand, psychologists' and clinical practitioners' perspectives on therapy interactions aim not simply at describing the ways in which this type of interaction is organized, but more at structuring this description using questions linked to the assessment and improvement of therapy methods. The latter approach leads, for example, to an improved understanding of patients and thence to a better diagnosis, or to more accurate assessment of the effects of therapy (see, for example, Gale 1991). The specificity of the therapy context is fundamental in this case.