Lien-Chien Yang
General Psychiatry Taipei City Hospital
Hsiu-Chu Tung
Taipei City Hospital, Psychiatric Social Work
Both intersubjectivity and marital & family therapy (MFT) place importance on relationships. Both emphasize problem-solving via communication, mutual understanding, establishing common views, and subjectivity. Moreover, the major goal of MFT is to facilitate the client’s subjective maturity. In this study, the authors discuss the construct of “subjective abilities,” the abilities needed to construct subjectivity in one’s life-world, which is comprised of “individual and relational capabilities.” Furthermore, this article focuses on some insights inspired by applying practical ideas of intersubjectivity to MFT. These insights are illustrated through selective clinical case data. The authors believe that the field of MFT is a “hierarchical structure that promotes mutually growth,” that the therapist makes use of therapeutic powers to enhance the client’s “individual capabilities,” which equips them with the attitude of communicative rationality (termed “Type 1 progress”), and to reinforce the client’s “relational capability,” which empowers them to conduct mutual growth interaction with others (termed “Type 2 progress”). These practical experiences of promoting personal development (Type 1 progress) and relational growth (Type 2 progress) have both contributed to understanding the intra-psychic and interpersonal relational processes of human growth. The authors hope that these findings can both enrich the theory and practice of MFT and supplement the theories of intersubjectivity.
Keywords: family therapy; Habermas; intersubjectivity; marital therapy; subjectivity