Semantic barriers to family and professional collaboration

Mental health professionals have begun to show interest in working collaboratively with families of mentally ill people in the interest of the patient's well-being. Many professionals are aware, however, that considerable alienation exists. One source of difficulty may be the language used to describe families. Drawing from the field of general semantics, the author examines recent writings for examples of language that may appear confusing or offensive to families. It was found that difficulties result from professionals' tendencies to confuse fact with inference, to stereotype families by placing them in either/or categories, to use judgmental language, and to use language of control that contradicts their goals of collaboration or partnership.