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Symbolic Interactionism
Symbolic interactionism (SI) is a principal family theory that originated in the 1920s and 1930s. This theory describes how symbols are created through human interactions and how those symbols then influence other human interactions. This theory also explains the idea that families are social groups comprising interacting selves and identities. This entry explores the history and the key assumptions and concepts of SI.
Historical Background
While SI has evolved over the years, with certain generations using concepts and ideas that were pertinent to the social issues of their era, SI does have a strong conceptual and research background. It drew from ideas put forth by moralists and idealists, the most critical contributors being American pragmatists Josiah Royce, Charles Peirce, William James, and John Dewey. These moralists, idealists, ...
- Assessments
- Adult Attachment Assessments
- Assessment, Biopsychosocial
- Assessment, Suicide
- Circumplex Model
- Clinical Case Conceptualization With Couples and Families
- Clinical Interviews With Couples and Families
- Common Factors
- Custody Evaluations
- DSM and V-Codes
- Ecological Systems
- Eco-Map
- Family Assessment, Models of
- Functional Assessment and Children
- Genograms
- Interpersonal Violence
- Love Languages
- Love, Physiology of
- Love, Types of
- Marital Distress
- Marriage Education
- Nonverbal Communication
- Parent–Child Communication
- PREPARE/ENRICH
- Progress Notes for Couples and Families
- Scales, Children
- Scales, Couple and Marital
- Scales, Family
- Scaling Questions
- Sentiment Override, Positive and Negative
- Sexual Assessment/History
- Sexual Health
- Sexual History
- Suicide
- Therapeutic Assessment
- Treatment Planning With Couples and Families
- Attachment
- Adult Attachment Assessments
- Affect Regulation
- Attachment
- Attachment and Adolescents
- Attachment and Health
- Attachment and Romantic Love
- Attachment Styles
- Attachment Theory
- Attachment-Based Family Therapy
- Attunement in Relationships
- Bonding
- Child-Centered Parenting
- Earned Attachment
- Emotional Disengagement
- Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples
- Interpersonal Neurobiology, Attachment and
- Primary and Secondary Emotions
- Psychobiology of Attachment
- Communication
- Assertiveness
- Avoidance
- Collaborative Language Systems
- Communication Disorders
- Communication Errors/Problems in Couples and Families
- Communication in Couples and Families
- Conflict in Couples and Families
- Conflict Resolution
- Conflict Styles
- Confrontation
- Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder in Children
- Empathy
- Forgiveness
- Love Languages
- Metacommunication
- Metaphors
- Nonverbal Communication
- Parent–Child Communication
- Power Issues in Couples
- Respect
- Secrets
- Social Constructionism
- Symbolic Interactionism
- Therapeutic Impasses
- Trust
- Coping
- Bereavement
- Children With Chronic Illness
- Chronic Illness With Couples and Families
- Conflict Styles
- Death, Parents of Deceased Children
- Empowerment in Families
- Engendering Hope
- Families and Substance Abuse
- Family Resilience
- Family Strengths
- Family Stress
- Family Stress Adaptation Theory
- Forgiveness
- Hope-Focused Approach to Couple Enrichment in Counseling
- Parental Stress: Effects on Children
- Reconciliation
- Resilience
- Self-Esteem
- Self-Esteem in Children
- Social Support
- Stillbirth and Miscarriage
- Stress Management
- Couple, Marriage, Family Policy
- Diagnosing and Disorders
- International Classification of Diseases (ICD)
- Adjustment Disorder in Adolescents
- Adolescent Behavior Disorders
- Adolescent Behavior Problems
- Adolescent Mental Health
- Alcohol and Substance Abuse
- Anxiety
- Anxiety Disorders in Adolescents
- Attention-Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Child Behavior Problems
- Childhood Anxiety
- Childhood Obesity, Prevention and Treatment of
- Compulsive Sexual Behavior
- Conduct Disorder
- Depression in Adolescents
- Depression in Children
- Depression in Couples and Families
- Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder in Children
- DSM and V-Codes
- Eating Disorders
- Elimination Disorders in Children
- Erectile Disorder
- Female Orgasmic Disorder
- Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder
- Fetishes
- Functional Assessment and Children
- Gambling, Compulsive
- Gender Dysphoria
- Genito-Pelvic Pain/Penetration Disorder
- Hoarding
- Intermittent Explosive Disorder in Adolescents
- Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder
- Mood Disorders in Adolescents
- Mood Disorders in Children
- Non–Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Arousal Disorders in Children
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- Paraphilic Disorders
- Parental Alienation Syndrome
- Postpartum Depression
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children
- Premature Ejaculation
- Reactive Attachment Disorder in Children
- Relational Diagnoses
- Schizophrenia and Families
- Sexual Dysfunction
- Sexually Transmitted Infections
- Somatic Symptom Disorder and Related Disorders in Adolescents
- Substance Use Disorders in Adolescence
- Diversity
- Acculturation
- Adoption, Cross-Cultural and Interracial
- Adoptive Families
- African American Families
- Asian American Families
- Assimilation: Immigrants and Refugees
- Beliefs and Values
- Bilingual Families
- Children With Special Needs in Family Therapy
- Chosen Families
- Cultural Issues in Couples and Families
- Diversity
- Empowerment in Families
- Ethnicity
- Faith-Based Therapy
- Families and Substance Abuse
- Family Resilience
- Family Values
- Feminization of Poverty
- Foster Children
- Gender- and Culture-Sensitive Therapies
- Gender Issues
- Gender Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression
- Gender Roles
- Immigrant Families
- Individual Family Culture
- Intellectual Disability and Autism
- Intercultural Marriage and Family
- Interracial Marriages and Families
- Kinship Care
- Latino Families
- LGBT Families
- Marriage Versus Civil Unions
- Marriage, Arranged
- Men in Counseling
- Military Couples and Families
- Mother-Blaming
- Multiculturalism
- Muslim American Families
- Native American Families
- Nudity: Beliefs and Values
- Parentification and Diverse Family Systems
- Patriarchy
- Racial Disparities in Foster Care
- Racism
- Relational-Cultural Therapy
- Religion
- Resilience
- Rural Families
- Same-Sex Couples
- Sexual Minorities
- Sexual Orientation, Attraction, and Identity
- Sexual Prejudice
- Sexuality and Religion
- Single-Parent Families
- Socioeconomic Status
- Spirituality
- Stepfamilies
- Therapists’ Values
- Transgender Families
- Transracial Adoption
- Urban Families
- Women’s Project, The
- Financial Issues
- Career Planning and Couples/Families
- Debt and Financial Strain
- Dual-Earner Families
- Families and Poverty
- Family Resource Management
- Feminization of Poverty
- Gambling, Compulsive
- Hoarding
- Homelessness
- Homelessness and Youth
- Job Loss
- Life Balance
- Poverty and Family Development
- Prenuptial Agreements
- Retirement
- Socioeconomic Status
- Work Relationships
- Intimacy
- Attachment
- Attachment and Adolescents
- Attachment and Health
- Attachment and Romantic Love
- Bonding
- Cognitive Maps and Couples
- Commitment
- Compassion
- Confrontation
- Couple Development
- Couples, Quality Time
- Dating Coaching
- Dating Relationship Dissolution
- Empathy
- Fidelity
- Forgiveness
- Friendship
- In-Law Relationships
- Intimacy, Specific Threats to
- Loneliness
- Love and Rituals
- Love Languages
- Love, Physiology of
- Love, Theories of
- Love, Types of
- Marital Distress
- Marriage, Arranged
- Marriage, First and Second
- Mate Selection
- Online Dating
- Open Relationships
- Polyamory
- Polygamy
- Reconciliation
- Relationship Enhancement
- Romance
- Secrets
- Sexual Intimacy
- Sibling Relationships
- Trust
- Work Relationships
- Life Events/Transitions
- Adolescent Behavior Problems
- Adolescent Mental Health
- Adoption
- Adult Development
- Aging and Caregiving
- Autism and Children
- Bereavement Counseling
- Career Planning and Couples/Families
- Caregivers
- Child Behavior Problems
- Childhood Anxiety
- Childless Couples
- Chosen Families
- Chronic Illness With Couples and Families
- Couple Development
- Couples, Quality Time
- Dating Coaching
- Dating Relationship Dissolution
- Death and Dying
- Death, Parents of Deceased Children
- Divorce and Separation
- Divorce Therapy
- Dual-Earner Families
- Families and Poverty
- Family Life Cycle
- Family Reconstruction
- Family Stress
- Grief Counseling
- Health Issues
- Homelessness
- Homelessness and Youth
- Hospice
- Individual and Family Development
- Job Loss
- Life Balance
- Life Events
- Life Transitions
- Loss
- Marriage, First and Second
- Parent–Adolescent Relations
- Parenting
- Postpartum Depression
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Children
- Poverty and Family Development
- Power Issues in Couples
- Prenuptial Agreements
- Retirement
- Rural Families
- Sibling Relationships
- Single-Parent Families
- Spirituality
- Stepfamilies
- Stillbirth and Miscarriage
- Suicide
- Teen Parenting
- Transracial Adoption
- Urban Families
- Major Concepts
- Affect Regulation
- Attachment
- Attachment Styles
- Attunement in Relationships
- Attunement, Clinician
- Boundaries
- Circumplex Model
- Cohesion
- Complementary and Symmetrical Relationships
- Crucible
- Cybernetics
- Differentiation
- Ecological Systems
- Eco-Map
- Ecosystems Perspective
- Emotional Disengagement
- Entitlement
- Epistemology in Family Therapy
- Family Myth
- Family of Origin
- Family Rituals
- Family Strengths
- Family Values
- First-Order Change
- Fusion
- Gender Roles
- Hierarchy
- Holism
- Homeostasis
- Hypothesis, Systemic
- Identified Patient
- Individual Family Culture
- Intergenerational Loyalty
- Intergenerational Trauma
- Isomorphism
- Kinship Care
- Marriage Education
- Marriage Encounter
- Marriage Myths
- Morphogenesis
- Morphostasis
- Mother-Blaming
- Neutrality and Curiosity
- Nuclear Family
- Paradoxes and Paradoxical Intervention
- Patriarchy
- Person of the Therapist
- Positive and Negative Feedback
- Presenting Problems
- Primary and Secondary Emotions
- Questions: Open, Closed, and Circular
- Recursiveness
- Resistance
- Scaling Questions
- Scapegoating
- Second-Order Change
- Sentiment Override, Positive and Negative
- Social Constructionism
- Social Support
- Structural Determinism
- Structural Maps
- Symbolic Interactionism
- Systems Theory
- Triangulation
- Models, Interventions, Techniques
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
- Adlerian Family Therapy
- Adlerian Open-Forum Family Counseling
- Attachment-Based Family Therapy
- Behavioral Family Therapy
- Brief Adlerian Couples Therapy
- Brief Family Therapy
- Chaos Family Therapy
- Child–Parent Relationship Therapy
- Childhood Obesity, Prevention and Treatment of
- Choice Theory and Reality Therapy
- Cinematherapy
- Circularity and Linearity
- Cognitive Maps and Couples
- Cognitive-Behavioral Couples Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy
- Collaborative Couples Therapy
- Collaborative Language Systems
- Community Programs
- Conflict Resolution
- Conjoint Family Therapy
- Constructivism
- Contextual Family Therapy
- Couple and Family Forensics
- Couples and Marriage Counseling
- Crisis Intervention With Couples and Families
- Discernment Counseling
- Divorce Therapy
- Ecosystemic Structural Family Therapy
- Emotional Intelligence, Children
- Emotional Intelligence, Families
- Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples
- Empirically Validated Models
- Enactments
- Equine-Assisted Family Therapy
- Ericksonian Family Therapy
- Experiential Family Therapy
- Externalizing Behaviors
- Faith-Based Therapy
- Family Mode Deactivation Therapy
- Feminist Family Therapy
- Focal Family Therapy
- Functional Family Therapy
- Gender- and Culture-Sensitive Therapies
- Gestalt Family Therapy
- Goals, Treatment
- Gottman Method Couples Therapy
- Grief Counseling
- Group Family Therapy
- Home-Based Therapy
- Homework Assignments in Therapy
- Homicide
- Hope-Focused Approach to Couple Enrichment in Counseling
- Humanistic Family Therapy
- Hypnosis
- Imago Relationship Therapy
- Individual Versus Family Therapy
- Integrating Systemic and Individual Theories
- Integrative Couples Therapy
- Internal Family Systems Model
- International Family Therapy
- Interpersonal Neurobiology, Attachment and
- Interpersonal Neurobiology, Couples and
- Interpersonal Neurobiology, Parenting and
- Joining
- Juvenile Firesetter Interventions
- Listening, Empathic
- Love and Rituals
- Marital Group Therapy
- Marriage Encounter
- Marriage Enrichment
- Marriage-Friendly Therapy
- Medical Family Therapy
- Metacommunication
- Metaphors
- Milan Team
- Mindfulness
- Miracle Question
- Motivational Interviewing
- Multiple Family Therapy
- Multisystemic Therapy
- Narrative Therapy
- Network Therapy
- Neuro-Linguistic Programming
- No-Harm Contracts
- Normalizing
- Paradoxes and Paradoxical Intervention
- Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.)
- Parent Management Training
- Peer Counseling
- Play Family Therapy
- Positive Psychology
- Postmodern Therapies
- Premarital Counseling
- Progress Notes for Couples and Families
- Psychoanalytic Family Therapy
- Psychobiology of Attachment
- Psychoeducation
- Punctuation
- Questions: Open, Closed, and Circular
- Reflecting Team
- Relational-Cultural Therapy
- Relationship Enhancement
- Restoration Therapy
- Rituals in Family Therapy
- Role-Playing
- Second-Order Family Therapy
- Self-Help
- Sensate Focus
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
- Stages of Family Therapy
- Strategic Family Therapy
- Structural Family Therapy
- Support Groups
- Systemic Family Therapy
- Systems, Subsystems, and Metasystems
- Therapeutic Alliance
- Therapeutic Contract
- Torture Treatment
- Training in Marriage Enrichment (TIME) Program
- Transgenerational Family Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Triangulation
- Virginia Satir Model
- Organizations
- Parenting
- Active Parenting
- Adoption
- Authoritative Parenting
- Child–Parent Relationship Therapy
- Child-Centered Parenting
- Children With Chronic Illness
- Foster Children
- Group Parenting Classes
- Interpersonal Neurobiology, Parenting and
- Legal Issues in Parenting
- LGBT Families
- Nonresidential Fathers
- Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.)
- Parent Management Training
- Parent Study Groups
- Parent–Adolescent Relations
- Parental Alienation Syndrome
- Parental Stress: Effects on Children
- Parentification and Diverse Family Systems
- Parenting
- Parenting Education
- Parenting Styles
- Pregnancy
- Racial Disparities in Foster Care
- Rule-Setting
- Teen Parenting
- Professional Development and Standards
- American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
- Certified Family Life Educator
- Child Protective Services
- Clinical Practice
- Clinician-Directed, Solution-Focused Supervision
- Competency-Based Standards for Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling
- Confidentiality
- Core Competencies for Marriage and Family Therapists
- Cotherapy Team
- Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs
- Court-Mandated Clients
- Decision-Making
- Dual and Multiple Relationships
- Duty to Warn and Protect
- Ethical Codes
- Ethical Decision-Making
- Family Life Educators
- HIPAA Standards
- Informed Consent for Research
- Informed Consent in Clinical Work
- Licensure and Certification
- Live Supervision
- Mandated Reporter
- Mental Health, Systemic Perspective
- Moral Dimensions of Therapy
- Multicultural Counseling Competence
- No-Secrets Contracts
- Postdoctoral Training
- Practice Management
- Professional Associations
- Public Health Code
- Release of Information for Couples and Families
- Self of the Therapist
- Self-Care Practices for the Trauma-Informed Couple and Family Counselor
- Sexual Relationships With Clients
- Supervision
- Supervision Contract
- Supervision of Supervision
- Supervision Philosophy Statement
- Supervision Theories
- Supervision, Approved Supervisor in Marriage and Family Therapy
- Supervision, Developmental Model
- Supervision, Gatekeeping
- Supervision, Individual and Group
- Termination
- Therapists’ Values
- Training and Licensure
- Research
- Clinical Versus Statistical Significance
- Common Factors
- Cost–Benefit Analysis
- Couples Therapy Research
- Delphi Research Method
- Developmental Model of Marriage
- Effectiveness Research
- Empirically Validated Models
- Evidence-Based Practice With Couples and Families
- Outcome Research
- Prevention Research
- Process Research
- Qualitative Research
- Quantitative Research
- Sex Researchers
- Sexuality
- Beliefs and Values
- Birth Control and Contraception
- Childless Couples
- Compulsive Sexual Behavior
- Erectile Disorder
- Extramarital Affairs and Infidelity
- Female Orgasmic Disorder
- Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder
- Fetishes
- Gender Dysphoria
- Gender Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression
- Genito-Pelvic Pain/Penetration Disorder
- Human Sexual Response
- Incest
- Infertility
- Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder
- Mate Selection
- Mindfulness and Sex
- Nudity: Beliefs and Values
- Open Relationships
- Paraphilic Disorders
- Polyamory
- Polygamy
- Pornography
- Pregnancy and Sexuality
- Premature Ejaculation
- Romance
- Same-Sex Couples
- Sensate Focus
- Sex Positivity
- Sex Researchers
- Sex Therapy
- Sex, Definition of
- Sexual Abuse
- Sexual Assault and Rape
- Sexual Assessment/History
- Sexual Dysfunction
- Sexual Enhancement, Sexual Toys
- Sexual Health
- Sexual History
- Sexual Intimacy
- Sexual Minorities
- Sexual Orientation, Attraction, and Identity
- Sexual Prejudice
- Sexual Relationships With Clients
- Sexual Toys/Sexual Aids
- Sexuality and Religion
- Sexuality Education
- Sexually Transmitted Infections
- Statutory Rape
- World Association for Sexual Health
- Special Topics
- Body Dysmorphic Disorder in Adolescents
- Child Guidance Movement
- Children With Special Needs in Family Therapy
- Community Programs
- Family Mediation
- Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood
- Hispanic Healthy Marriage Initiative
- Incest
- International Family Therapy
- Marriage and Health
- Media in Family Therapy
- Men in Counseling
- Military Couples and Families
- Mindfulness and Children
- Mindfulness and Couples
- National Marriage Initiative
- Online Dating
- Schizophrenia and Families
- Schools, Family Involvement in
- Self-Care Practices for the Trauma-Informed Couple and Family Counselor
- Sexual Abuse
- Statutory Rape
- Technology and Families/Marriage
- Therapeutic Impasses
- Torture Treatment
- Theory
- Adlerian Family Therapy
- Assessment, Biopsychosocial
- Attachment Theory
- Behavioral Family Therapy
- Bowen Family Systems Theory
- Chaos Family Therapy
- Choice Theory and Reality Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Couples Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy
- Collaborative Language Systems
- Constructivism
- Contextual Family Therapy
- Critical Theory
- Cybernetics
- Double Bind Theory
- Ecosystems Perspective
- Epistemology in Family Therapy
- Experiential Family Therapy
- Family Stress Adaptation Theory
- Functionalism
- General Systems Theory
- Isomorphism
- Love, Theories of
- Object Relations Theory
- Parental Acceptance–Rejection Theory
- Psychoanalytic Family Therapy
- Social Constructionism
- Structural Determinism
- Symbolic Interactionism
- Systems Theory
- Violence and Abuse
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