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Relational consciousness and the conversational practices of J ohnella B ird
Author(s) -
Ness Ottar,
Strong Tom
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1467-6427
pISSN - 0163-4445
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6427.2011.00567.x
Subject(s) - consciousness , psychology , communication , developmental psychology , social psychology , neuroscience
In this article we review J ohnella B ird's notion of relational consciousness, explaining it in terms of an ethnomethodologically informed social constructionist theory. We extend this notion to her conversational practices in therapy, examining first her general practice (and focus) on relational language‐making. We then turn to describing three of her specific conversational practices – negotiating conflicting discursive positions between partners in a relationship, exploring a partner's experience of hurt in a relationship, following unspoken assumptions, and negotiating power relations. We conclude by relating relational consciousness to an attendance to language as it is used by clients and by therapists in dialogue with clients.