Self as a Society of I Positions: A Dialogical Approach to Counseling
Year: 2014

Building on James's (1890) idea of an extended self and Bakhtin's (1929/1973) metaphor of the polyphonic novel, a dialogical theory of counseling is exposed in which the self is considered as a minisociety of relatively autonomous I positions that simultaneously function as part of the larger society. At the heart of the theoretical framework are two mutually complementing movements in the self space: decentering movements that are prominent in postmodern conceptions of the self and centering movements that are at the core of the modern self. Typically, decentering movements lead to disorganization, crisis, and fragmentation in the self, although they may also be expressed in adventure and exploration of the unknown. Centering movements serve as facilitators of coherence, continuity, and unity and are needed to create some order in the self. Selected parts of a case study are used to show how decentering movements are expressed in the process of being positioned in an often unexpected diversity of confusing situations and how centering movements are articulated in the form of third positions, coalitions of positions, metapositions, and promoter positions. The theory invites the counselor to stretch the space of the self to different and opposite sides to find valuable elements that are then combined in a diversified and tension filled, but coherent, whole.  society, dialogical self, society, positioning, counterpositioning. Several centuries ago, Montaigne (1580/1603) demonstrated a striking insight into human nature when he said, "We are all framed of flaps and patches, and of so shapeless and diverse a contexture, that every piece, and every moment playeth his part. And there is as much difference found between us and our selves, as there is between our selves and others" (pp. 196 197) The first part of this sentence gives expression to an observation that, in our contemporary society, is more relevant than ever before in human history: the emergence of a multiplicity of the self at the edges of fragmentation or even beyond. The second part of Montaigne's statement reflects something equally relevant for our times: the increasing difference between the several parts or facets of the self. As long as we attach to the implicit or explicit view that the self is united and coherent as it is, assuming that the self of one person is different from the selves of other people but identical to itself, we run the risk of ignoring the fact that, as part of a heterogeneous world society, the self has become more and more different from itself. For example, as a teacher at school, I am different from myself as a mother of two adopted children from Bhutan; as physically handicapped, I feel inferior when I am in a shop, but as a champion of the Paralympics I am honored and admired; or, as someone raised in a Dutch culture, I am used to responding to others in a direct and honest way, but, being married to an Iranian woman, I have learned to express respect to people. As a result of increasing technological advancements (e.g. media, transport) and intensified cultural, demographic, economical, ecological, and military interconnections, we increasingly live in a globalized world in which differences become apparent as people from a variety of social, cultural, and historical backgrounds meet each other as part of a compressed world society. Widening their horizons, individuals and groups have an increased range of identifications and disidentifications available that enlarge actual or possible differences in self and identity (for reviews, see Hermans Dimaggio, 2007; Kinnvall, 2004) THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD In his poem "The Second Coming" (1920) written in the aftermath of the First World War, William Butler Yeats expressed the sensitivity of the self to the changing society in a most succinct way: "Things fall apart, the center cannot hold." With this dictum, Yeats suggested the existence of a space or circle with a center that, located in a field of tension, is pulled in different and even opposed directions by influential environmental forces.