 |
|
Volume 3 Number 1
Fall 2008
| The Responses
of the Other in the Therapeutic Relationship (Commentary on Morioka) Saeromi Kim Brown University, USA |
pp. 109-114 |
 |
|
ABSTRACT: This
commentary further explores how therapeutic relationships can create
the
potential for transformation. Morioka
(2008) draws on the dialogical self theory to
discuss the role
of tension, dialogue, and through the concepts of utushi
and ma, the
possibility for new configurations of time and space in the dialogical
self. A deep concern for the
quality of the response of the other is apparent in Morioka’s writing,
especially
in relation to the promise of new meanings that may be achieved in the
therapeutic relationship. Since
the therapist plays a central role in providing the appropriate context
for
such achievements, I advocate for the exploration of multivoicedness in
both
client and therapist. I also
discuss how power differences pervade the social roles of therapist and
client,
and the significance of this institutionalized inequality in the
therapeutic
relationship. |
||
|
Keywords:
meaning-making,
the
other, multiplicity, dialogue, psychotherapy, power |
||