The semiosis of family conflict

A case study of home-based psychotherapy

Datos Bibliográficos

ID19005368
AutoresPeter Musaeus (0000-0001-6062-055X, Aarhus University, autor de correspondencia), Brinkmann (0000-0001-7579-1212, Aalborg University)
Año2011
Volumen17
Número1
Páginas47-63
Fecha de publicación2011-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCulture & Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1354-067X • E-ISSN: 1461-7056
EditorialSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1354067x10388851
OpenAlexW2069161040
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas10

This is a case study of a blended family undergoing home-based psychotherapy. The study uses sociocultural theory (Vygotsky) and semiotic cultural psychology (Valsiner) in order to understand the appropriation and usage of signs as regulators of behavior. Furthermore, the article draws upon Foucault’s genealogical approach and Rose’s notion of Psydiscourse. It is argued that this approach is fruitful for understanding psychotherapy as a governing discourse that influences contemporary families. Technologies of the self, such as psychotherapy and signs like ‘time-out’ and ‘stop,’ are used by family members in attempts to break a cycle of conflict—violence but they also exacerbate negative emotions, which we see in the case of conflict. The article develops a critique of the practice of punishment and reward. By analyzing psychotherapy as signs and technologies of the self impacting family life, we start understanding the barriers to well-being in families and individual lives

Appropriation · Epistemology · Family therapy · Psychoanalysis · Psychotherapist · Semiosis · Semiotics · Sociocultural evolution · Sociology · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Representations and Identity