Is therapeutic conversation of people diagnosed with the main psychopathologies dominated by different family semantics? From nosographic to hermeneutic-relational diagnosis

We start from the clinical hypothesis (Guidano 1987; Ugazio 1998) stating that each psychopathology is linked to a prevalent bipolar pattern of meanings or Family Semantics (FS). In particular, phobic disorders should be connected to the “semantics of freedom” which has the fear/courage emotions and independence/dependence polarity at its core, obsessive-compulsive disorders to the “semantics of goodness” based on the innocence/guilt emotions and good/evil polarity, eating disorders to the “semantics of power” characterized by pride/shame emotions and victory/defeat polarity, and finally mood disorders to the “semantic of belonging” which has the joy/desperation emotions and inclusion/exclusion polarity at its core. Should this hypothesis be true, the characterizing FS would be predominant also during therapeutic conversations with different groups of clients. So we coded the presence/absence of the four above mentioned FS core meanings in the first video-recorded consultation sessions with 60 individuals: 15 with a phobic disorder (agoraphobia or panic attacks), 15 with a eating disorder (anorexia, bulimia or obesity), 15 with an obsessive-compulsive disorder and 15 with a mood disorder (major depression or bipolar disorder). Our preliminary findings (the study is still ongoing) confirm that during the conversations with each group the characterizing semantics prevails compared to those typical of other psychopathologies. Our results will be discussed in relation to the etiology and the features of each disorder as well as in relation to the social-cultural influences. The clinical implications relating to the therapeutic process will be addressed as well