Breaking the Dominance of Dominant Voices: How the Therapist Promotes Assimilation by Facilitating Dialogue with the Client’s Problematic Voices

Abstract

Assimilation requires a dialogue between the client’s dominant and non-dominant internal voices, that is between the client’s usual self and his or her problematic experiences. This dialogue is established through conjoint work between therapist and client. This article seeks to consolidate some developments in the assimilation model by reviewing how therapist activities, particularly in directive therapies, can facilitate assimilation of the non-dominant voices into the dominant community. Therapeutic gain requires that the dominant voices (usual self) must give up control and the non-dominant (problematic) voices must be able to express themselves. In service of this goal, two main therapist’s positions toward voices have been distinguished, empathizing with the client's non-dominant voices and defying the dominant voices to break their dominance. These positions lead to an assimilation process that is irregular, as advances alternate with setbacks. This conceptualization is illustrated with examples from a good-outcome case and a poor-outcome case and related to the two main types of setbacks, which explain the irregular progress: exceeding the therapeutic zone of proximal development and the balance strategy.