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Blamer Stance in Couples and Families

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Introduction

Blaming is not uncommon among clients and therapists in the therapeutic setting (Paivinen et al. 2016).

Theoretical Context for Concept

The blamer stance has captured the attention of theoreticians and practitioners over the years and refers to the shifting of responsibility for conflict that occurs in couple and family relationships. From a communication perspective, blame can be conveyed implicitly or explicitly; but regardless, blame ascribes moral judgment from one person to another (Paivinen et al. 2016).

Description

The blamer stance is seen as someone who behaves in a way that implies superiority while deflecting any faults or guilt onto another person (Carlson et al. 2017). Someone taking the blamer stance may indicate disapproval in attempts to influence or at least to protect themselves from others (Bowen et al. 2005). Those who are blamed might become defensive and or lose motivation in therapy, while those who are not blamed may believe they are not...

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References

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  • Paivinen, H., Holma, J., Karvonen, A., Kykyri, V. P., Tsatsishvili, V., Kaartinen, J., Penttonen, M., & Seikkula, J. (2016). Affective arousal during blaming in couple therapy combining analyses of verbal discourse and physiological responses in two case studies. Contemporary Family Therapy, 38, 373–384. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-016-9393-7.

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Correspondence to Forogh Rahim .

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Rahim, F., Winley, D., Adedokun, E., Chou, J. (2019). Blamer Stance in Couples and Families. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_512

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