University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-2000 Rhetoric and psychotherapy : making the connection. Peter T. Rodis University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Rodis, Peter T., "Rhetoric and psychotherapy : making the connection." (2000). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 1275. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/1275 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BlEQbb 0275 RHETORIC AND PSYCHOTHERAPY: MAKING THE CONNECTION A Dissertation Presented by PETER T. RODIS Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PfflLOSOPHY May 2000 Education School & Counseling Psychology © Copyright by Peter T. Rodis 2000 All Rights Reserved RHETORIC AND PSYCHOTHERAPY: MAKING THE CONNECTION A Dissertation Presented by PETER T. RODIS Approved as to style and content by: Robert Colbert, Chair James Averill, Member Lenore Carlisle, Member ailey W. Jackson, Dean hool of Education DEDICATION To my marvelous parents, Themistocles C. Rodis and Rose Simon Rodis, who showed me what an argument is—and how to put love into it. AKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish, first of all, to thank my daughters, Leda and Maria, for putting up with the ^^nasty old dissertation"—that blocker of fun and sunshine—for these last three years; and may they, all their lives long, turn out far more prodigious works of their own, fashioned out of joy, insight, commitment, and hard work. Please know that I am grateful to you—for playing on the floor beneath the desk, for being beautiful and funny, for calling me to come see something truly worth seeing, for your chiding of all that is too intellectual, and for your love. I also want to thank my wife, Karen Sophia, for being the warm, steady voice of affirmation and understanding throughout this writing; and for seeing to it that unbounded life surged forward, bright and exciting, all the while. But for you, what breath there is in this thing of words would not, could not be there. I look forward to doing for you what you have done for me. I wish also to express sincere appreciation of my committee, each of whom I honor both as teacher and friend. Robert, thank you for your wise ability to discern the true from the untrue, the humane from the inhumane; your friendship to me throughout the creative process has been a imagination you gift greater than you may know. Lenore, thank you for the wild, fearless light of have shone on anything that has crossed into your sights; your laughter has sent a thousand somber nobodaddies scurrying. Jim, thank you for your teaching, your example, your honest>- I am marked by these and will remain so, always. v ABSTRACT RHETORIC AND PSYCHOTHERAPY: MAKING THE CONNECTION MAY 2000 PETER T. RODIS, B.A., UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. SAN DIEGO M.A., CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY M.Ed., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUESTTS AMHERST Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Robert Colbert This dissertation articulates the theoretical and pragmatic foundations of a rhetorical approach to psychotherapy; an approach, that is, which is informed by the worldview, concerns, and methodologies of the discipline of rhetoric. Rlietoric—which originated in ancient Greece—long predates psychotherapy in aiming to understand the workings of influence or persuasion, both as it occurs between persons and within persons (i.e., self-persuasion). Persuasion is of critical importance to psychotherapy not only because it is instrumental in producing change in clients, but because it is an ongoing facet of everyday life, accounting for a substantial portion of why persons behave as they do. Despite the apparent commonalities between rhetoric and psychotherapy, the literature on psychotherapy contains few references to—and fewer substantive explorations of—rhetorical works, concepts, rhetoric and strategies. Moreover, the majority of works on psychotherapy which do refer to of the individual. neglect to root their claims in a rhetorical understanding of the psychology psychological theories of Integrating concepts drawn from rhetoric with contemporary first of all, a construction of emotion, cognition, and psychopathology. this dissertation offers, VI the individual as a rhetorical subject, or as a being whose psychological capacities are organized to facilitate the sending and delivery of messages, and the exertion and reception of influence. Secondly, this dissertation demonstrates how rhetorical insights and procedures can help psychotherapists meet the daily, pragmatic demands of doing psychotherapy. Accordingly, this dissertation culminates in a structured, clinically-oriented description of how psychotherapy may be carried out according to rhetorical principles. The model for psychotherapy proposed here is intended to enable clinicians to envision a rhetorical framework or logic for psychotherapy cases, as well as to engage clients in (a) symptom-relieving rhetorical exchanges and (b) the work of developing greater rhetorical (self)understanding and proficiency. In articulating a model for psychotherapy, emphasis is placed on the role of argumentation, both as it is practiced by clients and by therapists. It is suggested that the fundamental mechanism of healing—that is, the essential occurrence to which therapeutic effects are due— is carefully constructed, psycho-socially apt, symptom-targeted argumentation. VII TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ... V ABSTRACT VI CHAPTER 1 THE . RELEVANCE OF RHETORIC TO PSYCHOTHERAPY 1 Statement of Purpose ^ Summary of Argument 2 Psychotherapy and Rhetoric: Making the Connection 11 Rationale 20 Discussion 34 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 40 Analysis 54 3. PREMISES OF A RHETORICAL PSYCHOLOGY OF THE INDIVIDUAL ...68 Ontology 69 Emotion 75 Cognition 92 Psychopathology 122 Concluding Observation 138 4. PRACTICING RHETORICALLY-ORIENTED PSYCHOTHERAPY 140 Introduction 140 Part 1: Conceptualizing Rhetorically-Oriented Psychotherapy 140 Raison d'etre 141 Conceptualizing the Therapeutic Setting as a Rhetorical Setting 143 Conceptualizing the Identity of the Client 148 Conceptualizing Psychopathologic Symptoms as Rhetorical 151 Conceptualizing the Identity of the Therapist 154 Why Psychotherapy Works 159 161 What is Argumentation? viii Page Part 2: The Psychotherapeutic Process jgy The Diagnostic Process lyi Setting the Stage for Therapeutic Argumentation 174 Engaging in Therapeutic Argumentation I77 Discussion Part 3: Conclusion Ig2 APPENDIX: PREMISES OF A RHETORICAL PSYCHOLOGY 184 BIBLIOGRAPHY 188 ix CHAPTER 1 THE RELEVANCE OF RHETORIC TO PSYCHOTHERAPY Statement of Purpose The broad goal of this dissertation is to articulate the theoretical and pragmatic foundations of ^rhetorical approach to psychotherapy; an approach, that is, which is informed by the worldview, concerns, and methodologies of the discipline of rhetoric. Although rhetoric has been defined in many and diverse ways, a useful, functional definition has been offered by Sarbin (1995): ^'Rlietoric is the disciplined use of oral and gestural actions for the purpose of persuading others (and self) of the credibility of the speaker's position" (p. 2 1 6) A more expansive definition by Bryant (1965) assigns ^\..to rhetoric a four-fold status": So far as it is concerned with the management of discourse in specific situations for practical purposes, it is an instrumental discipline. It is a literary study, involving linguistics, critical theory, and semantics as it touches the art of informing ideas, and the functioning of language. It is a philosophical study so far as it is concerned with a method of investigation or inquiry. And finally, as it is akin to politics, drawing upon psychology and sociology, rhetoric is a social study, the study of a major force in the behavior of men (sic) in society (p. 36). [italics inserted] Because an understanding of rhetorical theory is considered an important basis for utilizing rhetorical strategies in psychotherapeutic practice, a substantial discussion of rhetorical theories and principles is offered, especially in the initial chapters of this dissertation. In effect, these chapters offer what might be described as an outline of a rhetorical psychology, which is to say a rhetorical perspective upon human psychological functioning. Sources of special Perelman importance in developing this perspective include works by Aristotle (1991), Chaim Grootendorst (1963, 1969, 1982), Kenneth Burke (1931, 1955, 1966, 1989), van Eemeren and (1996), and others. 1 Paired with its concern with theory, this dissertation is committed to showing that rhetorical insights and procedures can help psychotherapists meet the daily, pragmatic demands of doing psychotherapy. Accordingly, this dissertation culminates in a structured, clinically- oriented description of how psychotherapy may be carried out according to rhetorical principles. The model for psychotherapy proposed here is intended to enable clinicians to envision a rhetorical framework or logic for psychotherapy cases, as well as to engage clients in (a) symptom-relieving rhetorical exchanges and (b) the work of