Rhetoric and psychotherapy: Making the connection

This dissertation articulates the theoretical and pragmatic foundations of a rhetorical approach to psychotherapy; an approach, that is, which is informed by the worldview, concerns, and methodologies of the discipline of rhetoric..;Rhetoric---which originated in ancient Greece---long predates psychotherapy in aiming to understand the workings of influence or persuasion, both as it occurs between persons and within persons (i.e., self-persuasion). Persuasion is of critical importance to psychotherapy not only because it is instrumental in producing change in clients, but because it is an ongoing facet of everyday life, accounting for a substantial portion of why persons behave as they do. Despite the apparent commonalities between rhetoric and psychotherapy, the literature on psychotherapy contains few references to---and fewer substantive explorations of---rhetorical works, concepts, and strategies. Moreover, the majority of works on psychotherapy which do refer to rhetoric neglect to root their claims in a rhetorical understanding of the psychology of the individual.;Integrating concepts drawn from rhetoric with contemporary psychological theories of emotion, cognition, and psychopathology, this dissertation offers, first of all, a construction of the individual as a rhetorical subject, or as a being whose psychological capacities are organized to facilitate the sending and delivery of messages, and the exertion and reception of influence.;Secondly, this dissertation demonstrates how rhetorical insights and procedures can help psychotherapists meet the daily, pragmatic demands of doing psychotherapy. Accordingly, this dissertation culminates in a structured, clinically-oriented description of how psychotherapy may be carried out according to rhetorical principles. The model for psychotherapy proposed here is intended to enable clinicians to envision a rhetorical framework or logic for psychotherapy cases, as well as to engage clients in (a) symptom-relieving rhetorical exchanges and (b) the work of developing greater rhetorical (self)understanding and proficiency.;In articulating a model for psychotherapy, emphasis is placed on the role of argumentation, both as it is practiced by clients and by therapists. It is suggested that the fundamental mechanism of healing---that is, the essential occurrence to which therapeutic effects are due---is carefully constructed, psycho-socially apt, symptom-targeted argumentation.