Conversation Analysis and Psychotherapy: Identifying Transformative Sequences

Figures & data

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1. QUESTION

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2. ANSWER

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3. THANKING

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1. QUESTION

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2. ANSWER

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3. COMMISERATION

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1. QUESTION

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2. ANSWER

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3. EMOTIONAL INFERENCE

Figure 1. A simple model of the sequential organization of psychotherapy interaction. (The text in the right-hand column is from Extract 2.)

Table 1. Four types of formulations (Weiste & Peräkylä, 2013).

Type of Formulation	The Task of the Formulation	Lexical Features	Sequential Features
Highlighting Formulations	To receive client’s description, recognize therapeutically dense material	Recycling words from client’s turn	Invites confirmation of the formulation
Rephrasing Formulations	To focus client’s description on subjective experience, invite self-reflection	Renaming client’s subjective experiences	Invites extended agreement/disagreement + elaboration of the formulation
Relocating Formulations	To prepare, deliver, rework interpretation	Connections, explanations, symbolic talk	Invites extended agreement/disagreement + elaboration of the formulation
Exaggerating Formulations	To prepare, deliver challenge	Extreme case formulations	Engenders an expectation to disagree with the formulation

Table

1	C:	mut että se niinku se tuntu niinku tosi  but that it felt like very bad
2		pahalta niinku tavallaan↓se henki siellä that kind of atmosphere
3		että, .hhhh ikään ku tässä niinku, (1.5) that .hhhh as if I would have been like, (1.5)
4		olis oltu hirvittäviä riistäjiä ja terrible oppressor and	Prior action
5		pahantekijöitä ja hhh huijattu ja hhhmm. criminal and hhh cheated and hhhmm.
6		(7.1)
7	C:	se valvotti mä kävin neljän aikaan vielä that kept me up I was aroind four o'clock
8		hiip°pailemassa°. still up° and around°.
==================================================
9		(1.5)	Target action (formulation)
10	T:	eli sä olit >itseasiassa< ahdistunu,  so you were >actually< anxious,
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11	C:	erittäin ahdistunut. very anxious.
12		(4.2)
13	C:	.mthh a varsinkin vielä ku sitähh läpyskää .mthh and especially when one reads that
14		lukee niin siinä paper((collective labor agreement))
15		niinku selvii kyllä (0.6) yhellä silmäyksellä you can see (0.6) with one look	Response
16		että se itseasiassa that actually
17		se heikentää #noitten ihmisten työoloja#. it weakens the #working conditions of those people#.
((33 lines of the client's description of the situation in the workplace removed))
50	C:	.hh et se on minulle jotenki vaikee (.) .hh that it is somhow difficult for me (.)
51		ollu koko ajan se, it has been all the time,
52		(1.4)
53	C:	mhh se työnantajan (1.7) rooli, mhh that role of the (1.7) employer,
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54	T:	.mhh oisko niin et sinä oikeestaan olet .mhh could it be that in fact you feel
55		loukkaantunut. offended.	Third position

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1	C:	mut et jotenki tuntuu et on velkaa but that somehow it feels like being in dept
2		ja (1.0) pitää olla nöyrä eikä saa nousta and (1.0) one has to be humble and then one
3		sitte sen takii (.) niinku (0.7) sitä vastaa is not allowed to (.) like (0.7) resist he
4		mitenkää koska on niin. (0.5) on saanu in anyway because it's like. (0.5) one	Prior action
5		siltä, (1.5) ↓kaik°ki°. has received from her, (1.5) ↓every°thing°.
6		(4.3)
7	C:	niiiknu se aina itekki sano et kaikki like she herself always tells is that you
8		ootte saanu ja (.) että (0.3) have received everything and (.) that (0.3)
9		että (.) ei pitäs olla mitään valittamista that (.) you shouldn't have anything to complain
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10	T:	↓mm-↑hm
11		(2.3)
12	T:	nii et jos vanhemmat #antaa lapsillee# ruokaa so that if parents #give their children# food
13		#ja vaatteita# .hh ni lasten pitää koko ajan clothes# .hh then the children have to feel	Target action (formulation)
14		tuntee suurta kii°tollisuutta°. immense grati°tude all the time°.
15		(0.4)
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16	C:	nii järki sanoo että £ei: hhh£ yeah the reason says that £no: hhh£	Response

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1	C:	yes i have forgiven myself, put it
2		down to experience,but i still have
3		nightmares about police busting into
4		our houseturning thee place upside
5		down and being chucked in a cell
6	T:	sounds terrifying. When you say
7		nightmares, you mean dreams that
8		happen when you are asleep?

Figure 2. Transformation of experience through action sequences.

Table

1	T:	… >Mä luulen et sun on< v:aikea oikeestaan, … >I think that it's actually< diff:icult for you,
2		(1.2)
3	T:	myöntää sitä että että y' (.) is#ä:# isä puuttu sinulta. to admit that that eh (.) you didn't didn't have a father.
4		(1.2)
5	T:	Sillä tavalla et se oli vähän niinku äidin vika, So that it was as it were mother's fault,
6		(1.3)
7	T:	mt että isä puuttu. mt that father wasn't there.	Target action (interpretation)
8		(0.7)
9	T:	.hh Ja se ilmenee tällä tavalla että .hhh (0.2) #ä:# sie .hh And it shows in this way that .hhh (0.2) #er:# you
10		kaipaat niitä ominaisuuksia (0.8) joita miss the characteristics (0.8) that
11		<isässä olis ollut>. <the father would have had>.
12		(2.2)
13	T:	Ja (.) oot (tyytymätön) äitiin nyt And (.) you are (dissatisfied) now with mother for
14		siitä (0.7) mt että >äidillä ei ollu< niitä the fact (0.7) tch that the >nother didn't have< those
15		ominaisuuksia. characteristics.
16		(1.6)
17	T:	Että äiti ei ollu isä. That mother wasn't father.
18		(3.5)
19	T:	#Isän::# (1.0) tehtävänäh'n (.) tavallisesti on: #It's the fa:ther's (1.0) duty (.) normally
20		(1.0) #(juu:r) i::#nnostaa (0.5) poikaa u- (1.0) #( ) to e::#ncourage (0.5) the son to o-
21		ulkoiluun a urheiluun. outdoor activities and sports.
22		(6.0)
23	T:	mt Metsälle ja, tch To hunting expeditions and,
24		(1.5)
25	T:	urheilukentille ja niin edelleen. to athletic fields and so on.
26		(18.5)
27	C:	.mthhhhff hhhmthh (1.0) mt hhh .mthhhhff hhhmthh (1.0) tch hhh
28		(6.2)
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29	C:	.mthh Nii::, (.) Tottahan se on (.) on tietysti, .mthh Yeah::, (.) It is true (.) true of course,	Response
30		=Isänhän siellä kentän laidalla >ois pitäny< olla. =It is father who >should have been< by the athletic field.
31		(0.8)
32	C:	Hihkumassa.=>Eikö niin<. Whooping.=>shouldn't he<.
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33	T:	Niin. Yeah.
34		(10.0)	Third position
35	T:	.hh Ja urheilyseuran#::#johtokunnassa .hh And in the steering committee of the athletic club
36		(1.0) tukemassa nuorten työtä. (1.0) supporting the youngsters work.

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1	C:	I am surviving and I am
2	T:	But it feels (.) doesn't feel right
3	C:	It feels a little unconfortable	Prior action
4	T:	Or a lot unconfortable.	Target action (lexical substitution)
5	C:	It feels a l(hoh)ot unc(huh)omfortable actually	Response

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1	C:	tis the season to be jolly and y'know
2		I can play I can do jo- I can do jolly	Prior action
3	T:	Pretend jolly	Target action(lexical substitution)Response
4	C:	I can pretend jolly I can just be out there

Table

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12	C: C: C: C:	((lip smack)) well (0.8) we- we have common depts, hhh.hhh definitely the practical (0.9) parts, are here as well, (5.6) (an then) we have a chi:ld, (4.0) an she really (.) loves her father, (12.8) .hhh an there's not everything that I mind about him there are some (0.6) positive charact(h)er(h)ist(h)ics he has as well, (9.2)	Prior action
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13 14 15 16	T: T:	((lip smack)) so somehow thes:e.hh these things seem.hh worth (2.3) sacrificing your happiness for? (1.5) or worth the pain?	Target action (formulation)
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17 18 19 20 21	C: C:	.hhh well th- th- my question is I don't know what's on the other side. would I- would I be any happier? (1.6) I don't know.	Response
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22		(2.0)
23		mm ↓hm! ↓yeah! so that's a big unknown.	Third position
24		(0.7)
25	T:	maybe (2.4) maybe ye just- would just be the same.
26		(2.1)
27	T:	an then=
28	C:	=or- or y'know or maybe end product would be the
29		same. the circumstances would be different?
30		(3.8)
31	T:	the end product meaning you'd still be [unhap]py.
32	C:	[my:: ]
33	C:	.hhh m- yes. hhh
34	T:	uh huh,

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1	C:	mthh Nii::, (.) Tottahan se on (.) on tietysti, mthh Yeah::, (.) It is true (.) true of course,
2		=Isänhän siellä kentän laidalla >ois pitäny< olla. =It is father who >should have been< by the athletic field.
3		(0.8)
4	C:	Hihkumassa.=>Eikö niin<. Whooping.=>shouldn't he<.
5	T:	Niin.
		Yeah.
6		(10.0)
7	T:	.hh Ja urheiluseuran#::#johtokunnassa .hh And in the steering committee of the athletic club
8		(1.0) tukemassa nuorten työtä. (1.0) supporting the youngsters’ work.
9		(5.2)
10	C:	Nii: Yeah:
11		(35.0)
12	C:	.mthhh °(Tyt-) niin,° .mthhh °(Wok-) yeah,°
13		(4.2)
14	C:	mt Et ↓mää: jotenki >mä en< en en >esimerkiks sit niinku< tch So ↓I: somehow >I didn't< didn't didn't >for example<
15		lapsenakaan .hhh ees olettanu että isä #e::# even as a child .hhh I didn't assume that father #erm#
16		°°isä tekis semmosta°°. °°father would do something like that°°.
17		(4.7)
18	C:	°Voisko se olla (ihan) niin.° °Could it be (even) like that.°
19		(4.0)
20	T:	°Niin.° °Yeah.°
21		(1.0)
22	T:	Jos sinusta tuntuu °siltä°. If you feel like °that°.

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1	C:	(…) tämmöstähän se oli sillo< (0.6) sillon (…) it was like this then< (0.6) at the
2		#loppuvaiheessa# niin se- (.) tou#hu ja #final stage# that< (.)hass#le and
3		sitte nimenomaan#< .hhhhhh se oli tosiaan se then in particular#< .hhhhhh it was really it
4		oli häpeällistä. was shameful.
5		(1.6)
6	C:	kyl me kärsittiin siitä helvetisti we did suffer so goddamn badly for that
7		koko perhe. (°ku tota°) .hhhh isä the whole family. (°as erm°) .hhhh the father
8		siellä niitten (0.8) was spending his time with these (0.8)
9		juoppo porukoitten mukana pyöri ja °tota°, drunkards and °erm°,
10		(3.2)
11	T:	mhmm:.
((8 lines omitted: some details of the father's and his drinking buddies mishaps))
19	C:	mt hhh pieni kylä ni siellä niinku kaikki tch hhh it was a small village so everybody
20		ties °aina mitä tapahtuu:°. there always knew °what was happening:°.

Weiste, E., & Peräkylä, A. (2013). A comparative conversation analytic study of formulations in psychoanalysis and cognitive psychotherapy. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 46(4), 299–321.

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