The emergence and management of embodied dilemmas in psychotherapeutic interaction: a qualitative study

Authors

  • Sarah Bro Trasmundi University of Southern Denmark, Denmark & Oslo University, Norway
  • Thomas Wiben Jensen University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
  • Henriette Bruun Psychiatric Hospital Middelfart, Denmark
  • Katharina Kjølbye Wrist Brønderslev Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic, Denmark
  • Sune Vork Steffensen University of Southern Denmark, Denmark, South China Agricultural University, China & Southwest University, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/qhc.v2i1.132866

Keywords:

Cognitive Event Analysis, embodied ethics, embodied interaction, ethical dilemma management, psychotherapy

Abstract

In this article we take an embodied and interactional perspective on how ethical dilemmas are being managed in situated interaction. Accordingly, we aim at linking ethical principles to real-life clinical practices in order to show how ethical dilemmas are less about abstract decision-making, and more about reasoning constrained by inter-bodily dynamics, affect and adaptive behaviour in situated interaction. We present two real-life cases of ethical dilemma management in a psychotherapeutic setting. We use the innovative method, Cognitive Event Analysis, to investigate the interaction in which the dilemmas emerge. The analytical findings, we claim, pave the way for a more embodied code of ethics, which, in turn, has consequences for the theoretical assumptions that inform the models and guide­lines for action in practice.

 

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Published

2023-01-30

How to Cite

Trasmundi, S. B., Jensen, T. W., Bruun, H., Wrist, K. K., & Steffensen, S. V. (2023). The emergence and management of embodied dilemmas in psychotherapeutic interaction: a qualitative study. Qualitative Health Communication, 2(1), 41–57. https://doi.org/10.7146/qhc.v2i1.132866

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2023)

Section

Articles

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