Building Miracles in Dialogue: Observing Co-construction Through a Microanalysis of Calibrating Sequences

This research continues in the line of several previous studies in the micro-analysis of therapy dialogues that are making the abstract tenets of social constructionism directly observable. Here, we report the design and results of a microanalysis of calibration sequences in a therapy dialogue focused on a client's preferred future. This study makes observable how the therapist and client display their understanding to each other moment by moment in their miracle question conversation and tracks what content (i.e., meanings or understandings) are being co-constructed and accumulated utterance by utterance in their interaction. Implications for social constructionism, psychotherapy dialogues generally, future research, and practice effectiveness are discussed.