The Family Semantic Grid II. Narrated polarities in couples

The article introduces the Family Semantics Grid II, a coding system for the semantic analysis of therapeutic conversations with couples. Inspired by the theory of family semantic polarities developed by Ugazio (1998, 2013), it identifies the narrated semantic polarities that couples construct about themselves in therapy and classifies them according to the grids of the semantics of freedom, goodness, power, and belonging. The four grids show the semantic polarities that characterize all the phases of the couple relationship, from coming together to construction, maintenance, and possible breaking of the bond — within each semantic. The FSG II is a reliable research and a clinical qualitative coding system that also allows quantification. Developed to analyze the couple narrated story in therapy, it can also be applied to other texts, including literary ones, in which the topic is the couple relationship.