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Tracing therapeutic discourse in material culture
1Discourse Unit, Psychology, Bolton Institute, UK. I.A.Parker@Bolton.ac.uk
The British Journal of Medical Psychology
|January 1, 2000
Summary
This study explores how therapeutic discourse shapes subjectivity and relationships. Discourse analysis reveals how texts construct selves and influence our engagement with counseling and psychotherapy.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Linguistics
- Sociology
Background:
- Post-structuralist and deconstructive theories challenge traditional views of therapeutic relationships.
- Discourse analysis offers a framework for examining therapeutic meaning patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze therapeutic discourse and its construction of subjectivity.
- To illustrate the application of Foucauldian discourse analysis to non-clinical texts.
Main Methods:
- Utilized discourse analysis, specifically Foucauldian approaches.
- Analyzed a piece of consumer packaging text through 20 methodological steps.
Main Results:
- Therapeutic discourse constructs readers as specific subjects who engage relationally with texts.
- Identified how consumer packaging employs therapeutic discourse.
Conclusions:
- Discourse analytic readings are valuable for understanding therapeutic texts.
- Highlights the culturally specific nature of subjectivity in counseling and psychotherapy discourses.