Responding to Blame in Family Therapy: A Constructionist/Narrative Perspective |
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| Authors: | Myrna L Friedlander Laurie Heatherington Abbe L Marrs |
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| Institution: | 1. Counseling and School Psychology Unit , College of Education, The Wichita State University , Wichita, KS, 67208;2. Catholic Charities , 108 E. Cook, Springfield, IL, 62704 |
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| Abstract: | Blaming events (N=25) were identified in seven interviews conducted by prominent theorists who espouse a constructionist or narrative approach to family treatment. Congruent with this perspective, we used conversation analysis (Gale, 1996) and the grounded theory method of constant comparison (Corbin & Strauss, 1990) to identify the therapists’ behaviors and strategies following blame expressed by family members. Results indicated three core categories or themes of therapists’ responses to blame?Ignoring/Diverting, Acknowledging/Challenging, and Reframing?subsuming 17 individual codes (e.g., challenging all-or-none thinking, highlighting neutral information, interrupting, focusing on competence). The most frequent code was focusing on the positive. |
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