Dialogical Co‐therapy

Abstract

Co‐therapy has been used widely in marriage and family therapy and counselling, especially in the second half of the last century. In recent years, there has been a decline in the use of co‐therapy, especially for financial reasons. However, currently, with the focus on dialogical ideas, co‐therapy has emerged as a preferable option. Although co‐therapy is now commonly used in dialogical practices, no clear description of the qualities of dialogical co‐therapy exist. Using practitioner research, we attempt to discover/describe specific qualities defining dialogical co‐therapy. The results show how a specific dialogical epistemology is evident in the co‐therapy setting and demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of such a setting, as well as identifying the challenges co‐therapists working dialogically might face.

Co-therapy in Open Dialogue: Transforming therapists’ self in a shared space

“…Lagogianni et al 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1083502 Frontiers in Psychology 09 frontiersin.org were no differences in participants' experiences of co-therapy despite their different original professional training. Similar to Hornova's (2020) findings that co-therapists' practices change in times of pressure and crisis, participants recognized that the voice of their professional self tends to be more dominant in times of uncertainty. Instead of viewing this uncertainty as a shared, overwhelming, experience of co-therapists, it seems that therapists opt for giving voice to each therapist's concerns in turn.…”

“…In dialogical practices, co-therapy builds on therapists’ non expert position and focuses on more relational characteristics in a network meeting, as a means to encourage dialogue ( Seikkula et al, 2012 ; Hornova, 2020 ). Dialogue is understood as a joint process that develops within network meetings through promoting a language that opens new flows of questions and new discourses ( Seikkula, 1995 ).…”

“…“Two or more therapists in a team meeting” is the first of the twelve fidelity elements to dialogic practice ( Olson et al, 2014 ). Having multiple therapists in a team meeting with a network supports the development of polyphony, through promoting alternatives and giving space to different voices ( Valtanen, 2019 ; Hornova, 2020 ). Open Dialogue practitioners perceive dialogical co-therapy as a process that entails unique relational qualities, including the ability to disagree with each other, willingness to be challenged in therapy, taking care of the co-therapists’ relational space, and finally being aware of and talking about embodied responses ( Hornova, 2020 ).…”

“…During Open Dialogue meetings, therapists tend to respond to networks’ experiences on an embodied and verbal level ( Shotter, 2011 ; Cromby, 2012 ; Borchers et al, 2013 ; Kykyri et al, 2017 ; Seikkula et al, 2018 ). When therapists share their feelings, using their affective responses and their embodied experiences, their co-therapist is likely to do the same and ‘contaminate’ this way of talking to the whole network ( Borchers et al, 2013 ; Hornova, 2020 ). In this way, dialogical co-therapy allows greater body-awareness and self-reflexivity ( Hornova, 2020 ).…”

“…When therapists share their feelings, using their affective responses and their embodied experiences, their co-therapist is likely to do the same and ‘contaminate’ this way of talking to the whole network ( Borchers et al, 2013 ; Hornova, 2020 ). In this way, dialogical co-therapy allows greater body-awareness and self-reflexivity ( Hornova, 2020 ). Growing research in the ‘Relational Mind in Events of Change in Multi-actors Therapeutic Dialogues’ reveals an embodied synchrony in the physiological responses of members of the network and the therapists ( Karvonen et al, 2016 ; Päivinen et al, 2016 ; Kykyri et al, 2017 ; Seikkula et al, 2018 ; Laitila et al, 2019 ).…”