23 - Therapeutic applications of dialogues in dialogical action therapy

Summary

This chapter gives an account of the dialogical self in psychotherapy, specifically therapeutic applications of dialogues in dialogical action therapy (DAT) as explicated by Ho and Wang. Informed by Eastern intellectual traditions, DAT is relation centred: the participation of others in extended conceptions of selfhood comes naturally to the dialogical self. It gives recognition to the paramount role metacognition plays in the therapeutic process. The chapter also touches on the inadequacies of some therapies, specifically rational-emotive and person-centred, as they are currently practised. Therapeutic strategies of DAT are illustrated. Finally, suggestions for research in Dialogical self theory (DST) are made, using the notation and analytic tools developed in DAT. Although the chapter owes much to Eastern intellectual traditions, virtually everything it says about dialogical therapeutic practice is applicable in the West as well. In this respect, kindred minds countenance no barriers to intercultural communication.