Abstract
In this chapter I aim to discuss specific ways in which the theoretical and methodological approach of discursive psychology could contribute to systemic family therapy research. Despite its resonance with systemic family therapy, up-to-date systemic family therapy research has minimally explored its methodological potential for the study of therapeutic dialogue. In this chapter, following a brief overview of discursive psychology, I will discuss three specific theoretical and methodological proposals which indicate its potential, due to their affinity with systemic, family therapy tenets. These include a rhetorical, argumentative perspective to the study of therapeutic conversations; an intersubjective, “systemic” perspective to psychological phenomena like identity; and a historically and politically informed perspective to the study of therapeutic discourse, as depicted in the notion of ideological dilemmas. While providing examples from family therapy studies, I will conclude with a critical appraisal of the methodological potential of discursive psychology for systemic family therapy research.
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Tseliou, E. (2020). Discourse Analysis and Systemic Family Therapy Research: The Methodological Contribution of Discursive Psychology. In: Ochs, M., Borcsa, M., Schweitzer, J. (eds) Systemic Research in Individual, Couple, and Family Therapy and Counseling. European Family Therapy Association Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36560-8_8
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