Reading against the lines: Resisting foreclosure in therapy discourse

In this article, it is noted that poststructural ideas can be useful tools in fostering reflexivity and creativity for clinicians. By examining the pr ocess of meaning construction, clinicians can detach from repetitive interp retations of therapy discourse that lead to conversational closure. Four st rategies for guiding a reading of family therapy interaction, are presented : incitement to discourse, deconstruction, normativity, and the cultural gr id of intelligibility. These strategies are used to describe examples of ma rital therapy discourse. By learning to read therapy as discourse, clinicia ns may critically examine how meaning is constructed and use that awareness to foster therapeutic conversations.