Linguistic Therapy of Evaluation and the Assimilation Model

Abstract

This theoretical article examines possible points of convergence between the assimilation model and linguistic therapy of evaluation (LTE), insofar as the former describes the process of change and the latter, as a form of cognitive therapy, considers the therapeutic conditions that facilitate it. In particular, the argument focuses first on why a voice becomes problematic from a LTE conceptualization. Second, the article explains how the therapeutic aims of LTE could contribute to a linguistic perspective on the assimilation model, focusing on how a dialogue between voices in the self could occur. Finally, the article will include a theoretical review of the assimilation stage of insight, explaining the influence of the development of an extensional orientation on the dialogue and the establishment of meaning bridges.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to thank Professor Robert A. Neimeyer, four anonymous reviewers, and Sergio Pérez Ruiz for their comments and suggestions.