A discourse analytical study of TV talk-show therapy

Using therapeutic conversations from a televised talk show as the source data, this research investigates how people solve emotional problems in an institutional setting within a specific social cultural context. A combined methodology of Genre Theory, Conversation Analysis, Systemic Functional Linguistics and Sociolinguistics disciplines is employed to examine the problem-focused discourse.;The research considers TV talk show therapy a valid genre. This claim is based on the generic evidence drawn from the data. As a task-oriented interaction, the talk show therapy has been characterized with the communicative intentionality to resolve emotional problems and to promote mental health to the public. These components in turn have shaped the generic structures, which become the crucial criteria that constitute a text as a genre.;Hierarchically, the TV talk show therapy emerges as a four-layer-structure. On the top layer, this social event is "Therapeutic Interview", working to solve emotional problems. This interview is then composed of a lower rank of "Phases". Each "Phase" is in turn composed of "Stages". A "Stage" is further composed of the next layer of "Sub-moves". Sequentially, this interview progresses through nine stages, which are labeled as Orientation, Elicitation, Identification, Confirmation, Explanation, Intervention, Advice, Reformulation and Projection. The internal structure of this social event has a clear beginning, a carefully organized closing, and a recognizable body of Problem-Construction and Problem-Solving Phases in between.;Two sub-genres, namely, the talk show genre and therapy genre predominately direct the "track" of the conversation. The goal of resolving emotional problems via the talk show interview is met by focusing on two thematic topics. The first thematic topic is to identify the problem that afflicts the client in the Problem-Construction Phase. The second thematic topic is undertaken in the Problem-Solving Phase to alleviate stress and resolve problems for the client.;As talk show therapy, intervention in this program is executed by means of conversation, and the verbal interaction is action-centred. This type of intervention is illustrated by the two action-focused stages of Confirmation and Intervention, wherein the client is invited to join in the therapeutic activities in order to make an accurate diagnosis and to exert influence on the client's perspective or behaviour.;The healing talk employs the use of dialogue rather than a monologue in its effort to resolve emotional issues. This is shown by the predominance of the discursive structure of question-answer in therapeutic counseling. As the therapeutic conversation proceeds, questions typically switch from open-ended types to close-ended types. Such a sequence is arranged in an effort to elicit information from the client and limit the answers and extract specific relevance to diagnose and frame the problem.;Talk show therapy is regarded as an empowering discourse to enhance the ability of the problem-takers and audience to resolve emotional problems. Empowerment in this social event has been documented from the social cultural theory and through linguistic-focused approaches. Talk show therapy thus enjoys a relatively stable and dynamic generic integrity. So the generic prototype is regarded as pattern-seeking rather than pattern-determining due to its dynamic nature. For example, the Problem-Construction and Problem-Solving Phases have a set of stages as their constituents but they are not necessarily confined to the defined phases. The dynamic nature also lies in the change of the client's perspective from being emotionally challenged to become more confident in handling problematic situations through the therapeutic conversation.;This research has therefore drawn several conclusions based on the findings of the analysis. First, a traditional therapy genre can be adapted to become an innovative genre to execute multiple functions. Second, advice is an obligatory component in the talk show therapy context though explicit advice is not advocated in therapy theory. Genre focused analysis of the talk show therapy helps us to realize the importance of integrating theories with cultural conventions of the people whom they are treating in therapeutic counseling. Third, the negative side of institional power needs reconsideratons considering the effect of appropriate use of a powerful and authoritative voice in executing persuasive power and empowering clients in counseling. Fourth, a broader conception of genre study combined with approaches and disciplines from other domains is an effective methodology to describe the textual forms and typologies and offer accounts for the nature of the speech event from different layers and dimensions.