Family Therapy as a Process of Humanisation: The Contribution and Creativity of Dialogism

Abstract

Family therapy shaped by the twin contributions of radical humanism (after Freire) and dialogism together create a binocular vision for practice. This vision encompasses the intricacies of moment to moment responses that are seen to occur within a politically informed and socially structured relational context. The breadth of practice possibilities shows no allegiance to any particular 'school' of family therapy but rather advocates for an orientation that humanises the relationship between therapist and family. This humanising orientation counters 'technologies' of practice that reduce the social or relational complexity of human existence creating categories of deficiency or pathology that individualise distress. Practical applications of aspects of dialogism are described and illustrated with a focus on multi-actor participation and attention to embodied responsiveness by the therapist. An attitude that encourages joint experimentation, serious playfulness and the 'performative' are offered as examples of the scope of a dialogically informed humanising practice. In addition practice challenges are considered, in particular where contexts of power 'over' the other are a necessary part of one's professional context.

Narrative Psychiatry and Family Therapy: Promoting Resilience and Collaboration with Persons with Intense Mental and Emotional Experiences at Risk of Causing Violence

“…I tell people what they can expect at every step, for example, The EMT's will be arriving shortly to accompany you to the ambulance; you will be able to walk down with them while a police officer follows behind . I agree with Wilson () who writes, ‘The therapist/practitioner needs to hold fast to treating the other as a human being worthy of respect whilst attempting to enact a duty of care … even when we are, of necessity, in direct opposition over fundamental matters of care and protection’ (p. 16). I am guided to continue to take these actions by my experience of having many people whom I have involuntarily hospitalised come back and thank me for saving their lives.…”

Co‐authoring better futures for children and families – Anticipation Dialogue in children’s social care networks

“…Bertrando, ; Macdonald, ; Partridge and McNab, ). Wilson () refers to children’s services but is more generally interested in ideas of being dialogical (see also and ). Other texts refer to the use of, or similarities to, AD, or more often OD, in a research context, sometimes referring to research in therapy (Borcsa and Rober, ; Tilden and Wampold, ) or research in social work practice (Ruch, Julkunen and Epstein, ).…”

The ethics of researching one's own practice

“…This continuum seems to me to be helpful in considering both the limits of how often I experiment – or rather improvise (see Wilson, ) – in my everyday conversations with families. Therefore, if I think of my practice as a series of micro‐experimentations or improvisations, based on all that I know about both practice and about this family in front of me, then what I am looking for/at is the feedback from every micro‐improvisation.…”