Sociotherapy with Marital Couples: Incorporating Dramaturgical and Social Construction Elements of Marital Interaction

This article represents an exercise in the translation of accepted sociological concepts into specific principles to be included in a larger framework referred to as sociotherapy. Sociotherapy is presented as a specific branch or subfield of clinical sociology. Although the concepts presented may be generalized to other areas of sociotherapy, the specific focus of the paper is sociotherapy with marital couples. Two dynamics involved in marital conflict and dissolution are described by employing the social constructionist position of Berger and Luckmann and the dramaturgical perspective of Goffman. The process by which couples jointly construct their marital world of reality is discussed, as is the process by which each spouse gains access to the "backstage" area of the other. The implications of both processes for the existence of marital conflict are outlined and suggestions made for effectively employing the resulting insights in undertaking sociotherapy with couples Even a terse perusal of the literature within the nascent area of clinical sociology reveals an interventionist approach committed to the application of generally accepted aspects of sociological knowledge. This interventionism is directed Correspondence to: Nathan Church, Department of Sociology, North Texas State University, Denton, TX 76203. The author would like to acknowledge the suggestions and comments made by the editor, anonymous reviewers, and Leonard Benson, which were helpful in revising an earlier form of this