This study is part of a larger exploration of ‘talk and cure’ that combines the examination of talk-in-interaction, with nonverbal displays, and measurements of the client’s and therapist’s autonomic arousal during therapy sessions. A key assumption of the study is that psychotherapy entails processes of intersubjective meaning-making that occur across different modalities and take place in both verbal/explicit and nonverbal/implicit domains. A single session of a psychodynamic psychotherapy is analysed with a focus on the expression and management of affect, with (...) an aim to describe key interactive events that promote change in both semantic and procedural domains. The clinical dialogue is analysed discursively, with a focus on the conversational processes through which new meanings are jointly constructed and affective states shared; detailed attention is paid to nonverbal displays of affiliation and affect. Furthermore, we explore whether the interactional patterns implicated in joint meaning-making, as revealed by analysing the therapeutic conversation, have correlates in the autonomic arousal of the two protagonists, as reflected in their heart rates. Conversation analysis has still untapped potential to illuminate interactional patterns that underlie the practice of psychotherapy. In this exploratory study we suggest that discursive analyses of talk-in-interaction can be enriched through detailed focus on nonverbal displays as well as measures of physiological arousal. Drawing upon the analysis, we suggest that bringing the methodological strengths of language-based analysis into fertile dialogue with embodied quantitative data can help our explorations of what’s really going on in psychotherapy. (shrink)

This paper reports the framework, method and main findings of an analysis of cultural milieus in 4 European countries. The analysis is based on a questionnaire applied to a sample built through a two-step procedure of post-hoc random selection from a broader dataset based on an online survey. Responses to the questionnaire were subjected to multidimensional analysis-a combination of Multiple Correspondence Analysis and Cluster Analysis. We identified 5 symbolic universes, that correspond to basic, embodied, affect-laden, generalized worldviews. People in this (...) study see the world as either a) an ordered universe;b) a matter of interpersonal bond;c) a caring society;d) consisting of a niche of belongingness;e) a hostile place. These symbolic universes were also interpreted as semiotic capital: they reflect the capacity of a place to foster social and civic development. Moreover, the distribution of the symbolic universes, and therefore social and civic engagement, is demonstrated to be variable across the 4 countries in the analysis. Finally, we develop a retrospective reconstruction of the distribution of symbolic universes as well as the interplay between their current state and past, present and future socio-institutional scenarios. (shrink)

The right to life includes the absolute freedom of the individual to live without being endangered or threatened, in conditions of freedom and promotion of interpersonal values. The purpose of the paper is to provide a general overview of the right to life, including the consequences of denying this right, as well as the main forms or distinguishing investigative characteristics in determining whether it is a case of murder or suicide. To provide the required data, a statistical method was used, (...) through which the frequency of murder and suicide during the years 2019-2022 was presented. The comparative method was used to compare the findings on the change in number in relation to the prevalence of murders and suicides. The interview method was used to collect data on the prevalence of murders and suicides at the local level, as well as to determine the distinctive investigative features of these cases. The results of the research indicate that murder, aggravated murder and suicide have been decreased during the period 2019-2022, respectively the first six months of 2022. The results also indicate that investigators may face some difficulties such as the lack of cooperation of witnesses, the unintentional and intentional destruction of evidence, the movement of the victim’s body by changing its position, or even in some cases the lack of professionalism of the investigator. Based on the results, the investigators can distinguish whether it is a case of murder or suicide based on the position of the victim, the type of caused wound, bodily secretions, the past of the victim and the presence of a weapon at the scene. Investigators do not often face doubts as to whether the case is murder or suicide due to sufficient evidence. The research indicates that in some cases the investigators can also face those situations when the murder is staged with manipulative methods to look like suicide. (shrink)