Arocha (2021) discusses the “replication crisis,” arguing for models that allow a greater complex... more Arocha (2021) discusses the “replication crisis,” arguing for models that allow a greater complexity in the relationship between variables and processes. In this comment, we identify a more fundamental issue: the impossibility of eliminating interpretation issues with operational definitions and increased rigor in the measurements of variables and processes. Interpretation is at the core of (a) human action and (b) scientific endeavor. First, considering Vygotsky, we argue that all higher mental processes are sign mediated, influencing psychological research with humans. Second, that the understanding of research results also involves sign mediation and, therefore, it is nonneutral. We suggest two alternative approaches. There needs to be an increase in research that delivers a detailed description of psychological phenomena. Additionally, it is necessary to increase the elucidation of contextual-embeddedness research. Taking into account the two levels of meaning will underline psy...
The authors applied dialogical sequence analysis, a microanalytic method for tracing recurring ma... more The authors applied dialogical sequence analysis, a microanalytic method for tracing recurring maladaptive patterns, to study assimilation in the psychotherapy of a woman treated for mild depression in two weekly sessions plus a 3-month follow-up session. The very first exchange (four speaking turns each by client and therapist) enacted a pattern in which the client responded to her own potential vulnerability by adopting a controlling caretaker position. Subsequent therapeutic work delineated component positions in this pattern, which was recurrent and maladaptive, leading to an insight reached midway through the second session. From the client's reports, it appeared that she used her new understanding to assimilate her problematic controlling side, giving her greater flexibility in her relationships and greater scope for meeting her own needs for care. She seemed to progress across three of the eight developmental stages postulated by the assimilation model: problem statement Áclarification, understanding Áinsight, and application Áworking through.
International Journal of Short-Term Psychotherapy, 1994
C ognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) is an integrative mode of short-term psychotherapy. As indicate... more C ognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) is an integrative mode of short-term psychotherapy. As indicated by its name, the conceptual basis for the therapy derives mainly from cognitive psychology and psychoanalysis. The paper traces conceptual integration ...
Background: We implemented a case formulation method, which is based on dialogical sequence analy... more Background: We implemented a case formulation method, which is based on dialogical sequence analysis (DSA) in a community mental health center. The aim was to achieve better congruence and collaboration between the patient and professionals concerning the tasks and goals of the assessments. Here we report a randomized clinical study in which we compare DSA-based and standard psychiatric assessments.
In a recent paper Ryle introduced the idea of integrating object relations theory and activity th... more In a recent paper Ryle introduced the idea of integrating object relations theory and activity theory, a conceptual tradition originated by Vygotsky and developed by a number of Soviet psychologists during the previous decades. A specific aspect of this integrative perspective will be examined, implied in Ryle's paper but not elaborated by him. It is the issue of sign mediation which was Vygotsky's primary contribution to the methodological problems of modern psychology. The aim is to show that object relations theory, especially the work of Winnicott, may bring fresh understanding into Vygotsky's early notions. It is further claimed that, by introducing the contribution of Mikhail Bakhtin and his circle to the notion of sign mediation, the profundity in Winnicott's understanding of the transitional object and of the potential space may be more fully appreciated. At the same time the ideas of Winnicott and Bakhtin will jointly clarify the limitations in Vygotsky'...
Child neurological diagnostic procedures involve extensive encounters with a multi-professional t... more Child neurological diagnostic procedures involve extensive encounters with a multi-professional team and may have therapeutic effects. This study explored the therapeutic potential of the diagnostic process using the assimilation model as the conceptual frame of reference. The process of assimilation was tracked across nine consecutive encounters during the assessment of a 4-year-old girl who was referred to the child neurological team due to contact and communication problems. All parent-professional dialogues were transcribed and analyzed using dialogical sequence analysis, which yielded a core problematic reciprocal pattern that was named “controlling in relation to defiant and uncontrolled.” Parent development in finding alternative patterns to excessive control was traced using the assimilation model. We could identify assimilation stages in parent development, from disowning the impact of their own actions and mainly seeing the problem as belonging to the child into a more fle...
This paper adds a new perspective to the research on teachers’ reflection by applying the concept... more This paper adds a new perspective to the research on teachers’ reflection by applying the concept of self-reflection developed in psychotherapy studies. The study focuses on the self-reflection process of one teacher in a facilitated peer group. The peer group was formed to promote the participating teachers’ well-being and to support them in their work. Methodologically, the group was based on the idea of narrative approach in which the sharing of personal experiences could offer new ways of looking at personal and professional experiences. The research material consisted of videotaped group sessions. Dialogical Sequence Analysis (DSA), originally developed for therapy contexts, was applied as a method of studying changes in the teachers’ self-reflection. The results indicate that peer groups can contribute to the self-reflection process by (1) supporting the self-understanding that permits an altered relationship with the original experiences, and (2) offering more realistic views...
Dialogues on Bakhtin: Interdisciplinary readings, 1998
... 4 Conclusion Bakhtin's dialogical approach to novelistic discourse gives us many... more ... 4 Conclusion Bakhtin's dialogical approach to novelistic discourse gives us many fruitful insights into the intersubjective nature of ... For a dialogically oriented researcher it is a liberating base, emphasizing the immense richness of human discourse. ... The dialogic imagination. ...
Background: We implemented a case formulation method, which is based on dialogical sequence analy... more Background: We implemented a case formulation method, which is based on dialogical sequence analysis (DSA) in a community mental health center. The aim was to achieve better congruence and collaboration between the patient and professionals concerning the tasks and goals of the assessments. Here we report a randomized clinical study in which we compare DSA-based and standard psychiatric assessments. Methods: In this randomised clinical study, we compared DSA-based and standard psychiatric assessments. There were 40 outpatients in both, the DSA and the assessment as usual (AAU) groups. We recorded the lengths of individual assessment periods, the number and durations of visits, and the numbers of clinicians who were involved in the various phases of assessment. The Working Alliance Inventory was completed by the patients (WAI-P) and the clinicians (WAI-T) during the treatment planning (i.e. final) visit. Results: In our results, the total WAI-P and WAIT scores and all WAI subscale scores correlated significantly in the DSA group (Spearman's rho = 0.562-.667, p < 0.01). In the AAU group, the only significant-albeit weaker-correlation was found in the WAI Bond subscale (rho = 0.369, p < 0.05). Compared to the AAU group, assessment periods were shorter and the number of visits were fewer in the DSA group.
Arocha (2021) discusses the “replication crisis,” arguing for models that allow a greater complex... more Arocha (2021) discusses the “replication crisis,” arguing for models that allow a greater complexity in the relationship between variables and processes. In this comment, we identify a more fundamental issue: the impossibility of eliminating interpretation issues with operational definitions and increased rigor in the measurements of variables and processes. Interpretation is at the core of (a) human action and (b) scientific endeavor. First, considering Vygotsky, we argue that all higher mental processes are sign mediated, influencing psychological research with humans. Second, that the understanding of research results also involves sign mediation and, therefore, it is nonneutral. We suggest two alternative approaches. There needs to be an increase in research that delivers a detailed description of psychological phenomena. Additionally, it is necessary to increase the elucidation of contextual-embeddedness research. Taking into account the two levels of meaning will underline psy...
The authors applied dialogical sequence analysis, a microanalytic method for tracing recurring ma... more The authors applied dialogical sequence analysis, a microanalytic method for tracing recurring maladaptive patterns, to study assimilation in the psychotherapy of a woman treated for mild depression in two weekly sessions plus a 3-month follow-up session. The very first exchange (four speaking turns each by client and therapist) enacted a pattern in which the client responded to her own potential vulnerability by adopting a controlling caretaker position. Subsequent therapeutic work delineated component positions in this pattern, which was recurrent and maladaptive, leading to an insight reached midway through the second session. From the client's reports, it appeared that she used her new understanding to assimilate her problematic controlling side, giving her greater flexibility in her relationships and greater scope for meeting her own needs for care. She seemed to progress across three of the eight developmental stages postulated by the assimilation model: problem statement Áclarification, understanding Áinsight, and application Áworking through.
International Journal of Short-Term Psychotherapy, 1994
C ognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) is an integrative mode of short-term psychotherapy. As indicate... more C ognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) is an integrative mode of short-term psychotherapy. As indicated by its name, the conceptual basis for the therapy derives mainly from cognitive psychology and psychoanalysis. The paper traces conceptual integration ...
Background: We implemented a case formulation method, which is based on dialogical sequence analy... more Background: We implemented a case formulation method, which is based on dialogical sequence analysis (DSA) in a community mental health center. The aim was to achieve better congruence and collaboration between the patient and professionals concerning the tasks and goals of the assessments. Here we report a randomized clinical study in which we compare DSA-based and standard psychiatric assessments.
In a recent paper Ryle introduced the idea of integrating object relations theory and activity th... more In a recent paper Ryle introduced the idea of integrating object relations theory and activity theory, a conceptual tradition originated by Vygotsky and developed by a number of Soviet psychologists during the previous decades. A specific aspect of this integrative perspective will be examined, implied in Ryle's paper but not elaborated by him. It is the issue of sign mediation which was Vygotsky's primary contribution to the methodological problems of modern psychology. The aim is to show that object relations theory, especially the work of Winnicott, may bring fresh understanding into Vygotsky's early notions. It is further claimed that, by introducing the contribution of Mikhail Bakhtin and his circle to the notion of sign mediation, the profundity in Winnicott's understanding of the transitional object and of the potential space may be more fully appreciated. At the same time the ideas of Winnicott and Bakhtin will jointly clarify the limitations in Vygotsky'...
Child neurological diagnostic procedures involve extensive encounters with a multi-professional t... more Child neurological diagnostic procedures involve extensive encounters with a multi-professional team and may have therapeutic effects. This study explored the therapeutic potential of the diagnostic process using the assimilation model as the conceptual frame of reference. The process of assimilation was tracked across nine consecutive encounters during the assessment of a 4-year-old girl who was referred to the child neurological team due to contact and communication problems. All parent-professional dialogues were transcribed and analyzed using dialogical sequence analysis, which yielded a core problematic reciprocal pattern that was named “controlling in relation to defiant and uncontrolled.” Parent development in finding alternative patterns to excessive control was traced using the assimilation model. We could identify assimilation stages in parent development, from disowning the impact of their own actions and mainly seeing the problem as belonging to the child into a more fle...
This paper adds a new perspective to the research on teachers’ reflection by applying the concept... more This paper adds a new perspective to the research on teachers’ reflection by applying the concept of self-reflection developed in psychotherapy studies. The study focuses on the self-reflection process of one teacher in a facilitated peer group. The peer group was formed to promote the participating teachers’ well-being and to support them in their work. Methodologically, the group was based on the idea of narrative approach in which the sharing of personal experiences could offer new ways of looking at personal and professional experiences. The research material consisted of videotaped group sessions. Dialogical Sequence Analysis (DSA), originally developed for therapy contexts, was applied as a method of studying changes in the teachers’ self-reflection. The results indicate that peer groups can contribute to the self-reflection process by (1) supporting the self-understanding that permits an altered relationship with the original experiences, and (2) offering more realistic views...
Dialogues on Bakhtin: Interdisciplinary readings, 1998
... 4 Conclusion Bakhtin&amp;#x27;s dialogical approach to novelistic discourse gives us many... more ... 4 Conclusion Bakhtin&amp;#x27;s dialogical approach to novelistic discourse gives us many fruitful insights into the intersubjective nature of ... For a dialogically oriented researcher it is a liberating base, emphasizing the immense richness of human discourse. ... The dialogic imagination. ...
Background: We implemented a case formulation method, which is based on dialogical sequence analy... more Background: We implemented a case formulation method, which is based on dialogical sequence analysis (DSA) in a community mental health center. The aim was to achieve better congruence and collaboration between the patient and professionals concerning the tasks and goals of the assessments. Here we report a randomized clinical study in which we compare DSA-based and standard psychiatric assessments. Methods: In this randomised clinical study, we compared DSA-based and standard psychiatric assessments. There were 40 outpatients in both, the DSA and the assessment as usual (AAU) groups. We recorded the lengths of individual assessment periods, the number and durations of visits, and the numbers of clinicians who were involved in the various phases of assessment. The Working Alliance Inventory was completed by the patients (WAI-P) and the clinicians (WAI-T) during the treatment planning (i.e. final) visit. Results: In our results, the total WAI-P and WAIT scores and all WAI subscale scores correlated significantly in the DSA group (Spearman's rho = 0.562-.667, p < 0.01). In the AAU group, the only significant-albeit weaker-correlation was found in the WAI Bond subscale (rho = 0.369, p < 0.05). Compared to the AAU group, assessment periods were shorter and the number of visits were fewer in the DSA group.
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Papers by Mikael Leiman