The
Inherent Dialogicality of the Clinical Exchange
(Introduction to the
Special Issue)
Sergio Salvatore
Alessandro Gennaro Università del Salento (Italy)
pp. 1-14
ABSTRACT: Dialogical theory is a
contender to become a general theory of the
psychotherapy process. In this perspective, it is
important to clarify the specificity of the
dialogical clinical standpoint within the more
general domain of the relational paradigm. To this
end, the authors propose to consider the
constitutive nature of otherness for the self as the
basic tenet grounding and qualifying the dialogical
standpoint. Moreover, they provide a reading of some
clinical theories as more or less radical
interpretations of such a tenet. Finally, they raise
the issue of the quality of otherness (a dialectic
counterpart versus an organic complement) as a
relevant issue that, due to its methodological and
clinical implications, dialogical clinical theory is
asked to address in its endeavour to develop itself
as a comprehensive framework for clinical thinking.