Nonverbal behaviour in the process of the therapeutic interview : an ecosystemic perspective

Abstract

Communication can be divied into two broad areas namely, the verbal and nonverbal levels.

While attention has been paid to nonverbal communication in the literature, few studies address the nonverbal communication that takes place in the natural setting of a therapeutic session. The present study provides such a naturalistic study, where the verbal content of actual therapy sessions are integrated with the nonverbal content to yield a holistic view of the session. An ecosystemic epistemology is adopted in this study, and represents a move away from more traditional approaches to nonverbal behaviour which are largely confined to a positivistic framework of thought and design.

Symlog Interaction Scoring is employed as a practical method of assisting observers in distinguishing nonverbal behaviours, which are usually perceived unconsciously, and lifting them into consciousness, allowing this infonnation to be integrated with the meanings and hypotheses generated during therapy. By deliberately including descriptions of nonverbal behaviour, the descriptions of therapy were broadened, thereby providing a more holistic approach to therapy.