Positioning theory and family therapy: creating new discursive positions in the mother-child relationship

Abstract

Following the Social Construction premise that the individual is constituted in relationships through language and starting from a family therapy context, the purpose of this article is to give visibility to the process of constructing more useful discursive positions for the relation of a mother and a child, from the focus on the communication process and the use of a metaphor. Theoretically, we rely on the understanding of the relational self. Methodologically, we use positioning theory as a resource to give visibility to the discursive process in family therapy, in which a mother and child negotiate alternative positions for their relationship. We conclude by the usefulness of using the theory of positioning in clinical practice, because it allows to put into practice the expansion of the notion of identity, replacing the focus on oneness with the possibility of multiple descriptions of self.