Dialogical Processes of Self-Transformation: The Sample Case of Eating Disorder Recovery

Abstract

Recent advances in the dialogically based study of self-transformation have come from process analyses of short-term therapy. The purpose of this article is to extend dialogical analysis to the whole of the transformation process by drawing on multiple dialogical theories. Using as an example the transition from eating disorders to recovery, the article documents the correspondence between women's recovery narratives and four phases of self-transformation—recognition, distanciation, articulation, and appropriation. Dialogical theory relevant to each of the phases is described and theoretical principles are illustrated in a case study of a young woman who was followed for nearly four years. The article concludes with a discussion of the value of multiple levels of analysis and implications for future research.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Partial funding for this project was provided by the Virginia and Choc Hutcheson Endowed Professorship held by the author. She extends thanks to “Beth” for her willingness to be interviewed over an extended period of time and to Elizabeth Sharp who collaborated in this project and helped to make this study possible.

Notes

¹The assimilation model, a seven-stage dialogically based model of change developed in therapy settings, includes all of the developmental moments as defined here (using different terminology) with particular focus on articulation and appropriation (Brinegar, Salvi, Stiles, & Greenberg, 2006; Stiles, 2002).

²Although Beth learned of this research through the Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery, the individuals who conducted this research were not affiliated with the Center.

³Within 12-step programs, chips are given to mark varying lengths of sobriety/abstinence. A desire chip traditionally signifies the desire to remain sober or abstinent for the next 24 hours, but Beth interpreted it more broadly as signifying a desire to move toward long-term recovery.