Relational Reflexivity in Dialogical Family Therapy: Exploring Linguistic Practices and Responses in Reflecting Team Dialogues

ABSTRACT Dialogical and collaborative approaches for mental health crises have become increasingly popular worldwide. Although many of the ideas taken up in dialogical therapy, such as Tom Andersen's reflecting team, are widely practiced, little is known about how this practice supports relational reflexivity during dialogical meetings with families. This study used Systemic Functional Linguistics to explore reflecting team dialogues and the immediate responses of family members during 14 Open Dialogue network meetings. We found markers of reflective and dialogical interactions including the presence of mental processes expressed as spatial metaphors; epistemic modality to invite perspectives; and expressions that expand on themes in the families' talk. In the moments immediately after team reflections, network members took up these metaphors, moved into broader contextual reflections, and used language that acknowledged multiple viewpoints. These results offer insights into how dialogical therapies may support interpersonal reflection, recovery, and healing.