ABSTRACT
This study analyses a one-year family therapy with an adopted adolescent, with regards to its outcome and process.
Method: This study will use Stratton’s attribution scheme with Stratton’s attribution scheme processes regarding attachment, bonding, and mutual belonging. An analysis of the inference styles (monadic, dyadic, triadic) used by the family during the conversation will also be provided, in order to highlight inference schemes recurring in family discourse and their change throughout the course of therapy.
The study will provide a systematic view on how the introduction, by the therapist team, of triadic, relational hypotheses based on present narratives and interactions can promote a semantic shift from the concept of ‘attachment’ to the alternative concept of ‘belonging’.
Aim of the study: Aim of the study is to highlight advantages of adopting a socio-constructionist approach when dealing with the problem represented by mutual belonging in adoptive families.
From a socio-constructionist perspective, creation of emotional and affective bonding within a family is a conversational process, subject to continuous changes and revolutions throughout the individual and family history.
Focusing on resources and ongoing relationships, rather than damage and early trauma, a socio-constructionist approach may represent a powerful resource in strengthening emotional ties within the current family.
