Abstract
Cognitive linguistics and conversation analysis (a) converge in the analysis of category bound activities and (b) in viewing thinking and talking as embodied activities. The first aim of this paper is to outline these powerful theories as useful tools for the analysis of enacting empathy. The second aim is to outline these theories as useful tools for the analysis of how empathy is co-enacted in clinical conversation documented in transcripts. Cognitive Linguistics and Conversation Analysis converge in detecting patterns of I-You-relationships with roots in early preverbal embodied protoconversation continuing to more symbolic conversational level. The paper proposes to describe this continuity of empathic conversation in musical metaphors like balance, rhythm and resonance. In a first section transcripts from therapeutic sessions are presented. In a second section linguistic and other research data are presented in order to bring empirical data to this new conception of how empathy can be understood, how it is done and how two participants cooperate to enact empathy. Ideas for further research are outlined.
Highlights
All therapists with a clinical background share some of the following experiences: talking to a depressive patient you suddenly realize how your voice changes
The results show an unexpected consistency effect for both types of acknowledgers: if the rate of acknowledgers is equal than empathy was rated high; if the video observers found an inconsistency than empathy-ratings decreased
In the first section I presented conversational data with the intention to point out some embodied phenomena of empathy
Summary
All therapists with a clinical background share some of the following experiences: talking to a depressive patient you suddenly realize how your voice changes. A musical dimension impressive interviews, wherein a skilled therapist manages to talk with a patient never seen before about deep involvement in certain sexual topics without being either intrusive or seductive This kind of experience can best be described by musical metaphors like resonance, rhythm or balance. In order to understand how two very skillful therapists managed to overcome these difficulties and to bring these men in a deeper examination of what they did which brought some of them into a serious suicidal crisis If this crisis was passed we could observe that they had changed the use of metaphors, their way of talking and categorizing things.
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