On the use of profane language in psychotherapy and counseling: A brief summary of studies over the last six decades

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this overview, the existing research on swearing, cussing, and cursing over the last six decades is surveyed in the context of mental health therapy and counselling-related pursuits. Swearing is a subject of longstanding controversy, dating back to the days in which prominent figures of the psychotherapeutic tradition like Albert Ellis and Fritz Perls affirmed profane language in their counselling interviews. Although profanity is seemingly taken for granted as a categorically taboo subject matter in present-day counselling, the notion that swearing might add value to counselling remains underrepresented in the literature. Presented here are studies both supporting and contradicting the generally accepted standards for counselor use of profanity in clinical practice, illustrating the context-laden aspects of the importance of language. This article represents a platform that could act to further academic inquiry in the context of swearing in therapy on the part of therapists in framing, staking out, and subsequently showing their own position on whether swearing is simply wrong or that there is a ‘right way’ to use it. Ultimately the focus of this article is on an introduction to a much deeper problematic of language in therapy.