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Significant and meaningful moments: On the border between inner and outer dialogues

Per Arne Lidbom of the Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences at the University of Agder has submitted his thesis entitled «Significant and meaningful moments: On the border between inner and outer dialogues. Exploring the interplay between inner and outer dialogues in significant meaningful moments of network therapy”, and will defend the thesis for the PhD-degree Tuesday 15 September 2020. (Photo: Private)

The findings show first and foremost the magnitude of voices and dialogues that are present in a network meeting, and that the most of these voices and dialogues remains as inner voices and dialogues without being uttered.

Per Arne Lidbom

PhD Candidate

The disputation will be held digitally, because of the Corona covid-19-situation.

Per Arne Lidbom of the Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences at the University of Agder has submitted his thesis entitled «Significant and meaningful moments: On the border between inner and outer dialogues. Exploring the interplay between inner and outer dialogues in significant meaningful moments of network therapy”, and will defend the thesis for the PhD-degree Tuesday 15 September 2020.

He has followed the PhD Programme at the Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences at the University of Agder.

Summary of the Thesis by Per Arne Lidbom:

Significant and meaningful moments: On the border between inner and outer dialogues.

Exploring the interplay between inner and outer dialogues in significant meaningful moments of network therapy

This thesis explores the interplay between the outer dialogue and the participants inner dialogues in network meetings with adolescents.

Sequences that is explored is sequences all the participants in the network meeting experience as significant and meaningful.

In addition to that we also explore sequences only the therapist finds significant and meaningful.

Four articles

This doctoral dissertation consists of four articles:

  • The first article is a case study of a network meeting.
  • Article 2 explore how the interplay between the outer dialogue and the participants inner dialogues contribute to the development of significant and meaningful sequences.
  • Article 3 deals with the therapist and the interplay between the outer dialogue and the therapist’s inner dialogues, in sequences only the therapists experience as significant and meaningful.
  • Article 4 identifies and analyze the experience of changes that happens in network meetings.

The findings show first and foremost the magnitude of voices and dialogues that are present in a network meeting, and that the most of these voices and dialogues remains as inner voices and dialogues without being uttered.

The interplay between the participants outer and inner dialogues

Findings presented in the first article shows how the interplay between the outer dialogue and the participants inner dialogues forms a polyphony which play an important role in the evolvement of significant and meaningful sequences. This polyphony has also a basic dynamic function when it comes to how the conversation develop, and which themes are present at any given time. 

Findings presented in the second article shows how the participants inner dialogues are important because they contain different movements which are significant in developing new perspectives and meanings related to the themes in the outer dialogue. This is movements in time (past, present and future) and movements between the two different positions of “being present” and “reflection”. We also find that participants can miss what is talked about in the outer dialogue and become more occupied by his/her inner dialogues when the outer dialogue is mainly monological.

The therapists inner dialogues

Findings presented in the third article shows that the therapists inner dialogues mainly consist of voices from a professional or a personal position. And that the therapist’s professional knowledge is implicit present in the network meeting.

This knowledge is adapted to the context, the persons present in the meeting, and the themes present in the outer dialogue.

We also find that the therapist’s voices from the personal position is important when it comes to attunement, being present in the conversation both as therapist and human and give life to what is talked about in the outer dialogue.

Initiates change

The fourth article indicate that being in dialogue is not only about being present in the present moment. It is also necessary to include the present moment’s relation to the past and the future if we shall understand the chance-generating aspects that are at play.

The findings also show the significance of the ethical aspect in network meetings. This may imply that in order to “open up” for the moving and living of those involved, being invitingly attentive to the speaking of other may be crucial.

The unconditional welcome to the inviting attentiveness is perhaps what it takes to initiate change. 

Shows the importance of the interplay

This dissertation makes some of the many processes that is going on in a network meeting visible.

The dissertation shows the importance of the interplay between the outer dialogue and the participants inner dialogues when it comes our understanding of what is happening in network meetings. A knowledge that can indicate how a therapist should appear in these kinds of conversations.

 

Disputation facts:

The trial lecture and the public defence will take place online, via the Zoom conferencing app (link below)

Dean of the Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, Professor Anders Johan Wickstrøm Andersen, will chair the disputation.

The trial lecture at 10:15 hours

Public defence at 12:15 hours

Given topic for trial lecture: "Familieterapi med ungdom: Hva er kunnskapsstatus og hvilke muligheter og utfordringer finnes?"

Thesis Title«Significant and meaningful moments: On the border between inner and outer dialogues. Exploring the interplay between inner and outer dialogues in significant meaningful moments of network therapy”

Search for the thesis in AURA - Agder University Research Archive, a digital archive of scientific papers, theses and dissertations from the academic staff and students at the University of Agder.

The Candidate: Per Arne Lidbom (1957, Levanger) Psychologist, University of Bergen (1989), Family Therapist (1998) and Specialist in Psychology (2006). Worked at PPT - educational and psychological counselling service (1989 – 1992), Sørlandet Hospital HF Kristiansand: Different clinics (1992 - June 2019). Present posistion: Associate Professor at the Department of Psychosocial Health at the University of Agder.

Opponents:

First opponent: Per Linell, Professor Emeritus in Communication at Gothenburg University and Professor in Language and Culture, Linköping University, Sweden.

Second opponent: Associate Professor Marius Veseth, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen.

Professor Gudrun Elin Rohde, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, is appointed as the administrator for the assessment commitee.

Supervisors were Professor Emeritus Jaakko Seikkula, Department of Psychology at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland (main supervisor). Jaakko Seikkula is dr.h.c. at the University of Agder. Professor emeritus Kjell Kristoffersen, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder and Professor Emeritus Dagfin Ulland, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder (co-supervisors)

What to do as an audience member:

The disputation is open to the public, but to follow the trial lecture and the public defence you have to register as an audience member.

We ask audience members to join the virtual trial lecture at 10:05 at the earliest and the public defense at 12:05 at the earliest. After these times, you can leave and rejoin the meeting at any time. Further, we ask audience members to turn off their microphone and camera and keep them turned off throughout the event. You do this at the bottom left of the image when in Zoom. We recommend you use ‘Speaker view’. You select that at the top right corner of the video window when in Zoom.

Opponent ex auditorio:

The chair invites members of the public to pose questions ex auditorio in the introduction to the public defense, with deadlines. Questions can be submitted to the chair, Anders Johan Wickstrøm Andersen on e-mail anders.j.w.andersen@uia.no 

The thesis is available here:

 PhD thesis P. A. Lidbom