Thick description was originally proposed to overcome the limitations of quantitative research and ground anthropological observations in concrete people’s expectations, rather than in normative theories. The ultimate objective was to account for the emotional aspects of worldviews and value-orientations that would otherwise be left tacit or implicit by quantitative investigations. The present paper aimed at reviewing the _conceptual framework_ that has characterized this relational turn and has made possible a deeper understanding of the subjective experience. The primary objective is thus (...) to make explicit the assumptions upon which thick description relies and discuss how these renewed conditions allow meaning to emerge in interpersonal relationships. We argue that both these objectives would be theoretically attainable if primarily centered on the exploration of the _possibility space_ and on the patient’s experience as driven by the power of _counterfactual thinking_. Under these conditions, human subjects may be led to recognize the contextual and semiotic dimension of _boundaries_ and, in so doing, become aware of the beneficial effects of weaving past and new experiences in meaningful relationships. (shrink)

The biopsychosocial model was initially proposed to overcome the normative assumption that human diseases are exclusively due to disordered biochemical and/or neurophysiological processes. The model attempts to explain how expectations, thoughts and feelings modify the patient’s motivations to deal with illness and recovery. By considering the physical health in this perspective, healthcare professionals may test the importance of socially and culturally shared principles in alleviating illness experience. The entire biopsychosocial hierarchy may thus appear as a complex network of relationships between (...) the strict logic of scientific explanations and the emotional sustainability with which beliefs may either be defended, changed or even refused. In this paper, we aim at reviewing some of the evidence-based biomedical and psychological findings that provide a unified framework for the biopsychosocial model as a multilevel integrative process. To tackle this objective, we propose to approach the model in biosemiotic terms. It is our contention that the entire biopsychosocial hierarchy could be better understood if approached biosemiotically and the multilevel interconnection of this hierarchy re-examined in the light of a collaborative meaning-making process. (shrink)

I emphasize the relevance of Barnes and Možina’s metalogue for some topical issues in the psychotherapy field of current times. The dialectical and recursive approach of the authors, in both the form and content of their work, points to what psychotherapy needs most: the re-awakening of reflexive thinking.