Ruusuvuori2007

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Ruusuvuori2007
BibType ARTICLE
Key Ruusuvuori2007
Author(s) Johanna Ruusuvuori
Title Managing affect: integration of empathy and problem-solving in health care encounters
Editor(s)
Tag(s) EMCA, Healthcare communication, affect, empathy, conversation analysis, institutional interaction, general practice, homeopathy
Publisher
Year 2007
Language English
City
Month
Journal Discourse Studies
Volume 9
Number 5
Pages 597–622
URL Link
DOI 10.1177/1461445607081269
ISBN
Organization
Institution
School
Type
Edition
Series
Howpublished
Book title
Chapter

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Abstract

This study describes the ways in which professionals in two contexts of health care: general practice and homeopathic consultations, respond to patients' affective expressions of a trouble or a problem. The focus is on the turns of professionals that display understanding, compassion or agreement with the patient's account. Different types of affiliative turns are described and their consequences for the following interaction are scrutinized in relation to the institutional task of solving the patients' health-related problems. It is shown that in both contexts, affiliation is oriented to as working towards closing the sequence of troubles-telling and serves to shift back to problem-solving activity, whilst in homeopathy, it may also serve as a means to problem-solving and thus help to complete the institutional task at hand. Some implications of these observations for professional—client interaction will be described. To conclude, the role of emotion in institutional interaction will also be discussed.

Notes