"Get Therapy and Work on It": Managing Dissent in an Intentional Community

Based on two years of fieldwork in an intentional community that was officially both egalitarian and therapeutic, we examine how community founders used a discourse of liberation psychotherapy to maintain power over newcomers. When newcomers expressed their desire for more financial accountability o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Symbolic interaction 2007-04, Vol.30 (2), p.175-198
Main Authors: Holden, Daphne, Schrock, Doug
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Anger
Communities
Community
Community Power
Community relations
Discourse
Discursive Practices
Dissent
Egalitarianism
Emotional expression
Emotions
Field work
Intentional communities
Interactionism
Medical treatment
Newcomers
Psychological Factors
Psychology
Psychotherapy
Social interaction
Social Movements
Symbolic interaction
Symbolic Interactionism
Utopias
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Summary:Based on two years of fieldwork in an intentional community that was officially both egalitarian and therapeutic, we examine how community founders used a discourse of liberation psychotherapy to maintain power over newcomers. When newcomers expressed their desire for more financial accountability or for limiting the expression of anger, the founders managed such dissent by (1) reframing community problems as psychological issues, (2) discrediting critics as psychologically troubled, and (3) emotionally attacking recalcitrant newcomers. In contrast to those who argue that a discourse emphasizing emotions fosters equality within social movement and utopian communities, we show that it depends on how people use the discourse. Our study points to the importance of interaction for research on discourse as well as the importance of discourse for an interactionist approach to power.
ISSN:0195-6086
1533-8665
DOI:10.1525/si.2007.30.2.175