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Emotions in the Practice of Systemic Therapy
Author(s) -
Bertrando Paolo,
Arcelloni Teresa
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.297
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1467-8438
pISSN - 0814-723X
DOI - 10.1002/anzf.1051
Subject(s) - psychology , meaning (existential) , flexibility (engineering) , agency (philosophy) , psychological intervention , intervention (counseling) , perception , psychotherapist , social psychology , therapeutic relationship , sense of agency , family therapy , sociology , social science , mathematics , neuroscience , psychiatry , statistics
Emotions are connected to meaning making in human interactions. This can be seen not just in terms of the immediate participants and their developmental history but also through broader cultural, social, and gender lenses. In times of relational tension, which require system flexibility, some emotional interaction can constrain alternative actions or meanings being constructed. Therapists can hypothesize about these emotional dances (including those that are taking place in the therapist/client system) and such hypotheses can inform interventions aimed at generating different emotional sequences. If participants in therapy experience alternative emotional responses as a result of therapeutic intervention, then change can occur (e.g., a greater sense of agency or hope, or a different perception of the situation).