‘Can I tell?’ : Children’s participation and positioning in a secretive atmosphere in family therapy

Autor: Mira Helimäki, Kirsti Kumpulainen, Aarno Laitila
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Popis: As a multifaceted phenomenon, family secrets affect interaction in the therapeutic system. This qualitative study, applying the multi‐actor Dialogical Methods for Investigations of Happening of Change, explored how children participated and positioned themselves in family therapy in a climate of family secrets. The results showed that the children were active co‐participants in the complex dynamics of a secretive atmosphere, involving themselves in the paradoxical processes of reconstructing and deconstructing the secretive and unsafe climate. In family therapy, a child’s symptomatic behaviour can function as a visible ‘cover story’ for invisible constructions of secrets, preventing sensitive topics from becoming the focus of therapy. Family secrets therefore continue to present a challenge in family therapy practice and research. peerReviewed
Databáze: OpenAIRE