‘Hypothetical active-voicing’: Therapists ‘modelling’ of clients’ future conversations in CBT interactions

This paper focuses on a conversational resource we call ‘hypothetical active-voicing’ (HAV). The practice involves a speaker enacting hypothetical talk that their interlocutor might use in a future situation. The data come from a corpus of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy sessions, in sequences that involve therapists proposing strategies to clients for behavioural change. The ways in which therapists routinely enacted ‘hypothetical active-voicing’ will be discussed, along with consideration of the interactional accomplishments of this practice. It will be demonstrated that the HAV device can be used as a way for therapists to pre-empt resistance from clients when making proposals for behavioural change. It is typically deployed in sequential environments where resistance has already become relevant to the interaction.

► This paper examines a conversational resource: ‘Hypothetical active voicing’ (HAV). ► HAV involves enacting hypothetical talk for use in a future situation. ► It is delivered in a similar way to ‘direct reported speech’. ► HAV can be used as a way to pre-empt and manage possible resistance.