Relational and Social Constructionist Consortium of Ecuador (IRYSE) Diego Tapia Figueroa, Ph.D. and Maritza Crespo Balderrama, M.A. Authenticity Conversing in therapy, in this work of processes of relationally weaving new possibilities, dialoguing with a client, we ask him/her how he/she notices, what he/she notices when he/she is authentic. And, after his response, we asked him what makes the difference between his feeling and being authentic and not feeling or being authentic. From there, an enriching dialogue unfolded about what he considered new in these reflections, for example, he stated: “I feel free to be authentic here because I can use my own words, my language, and talk about myself freely…

Relational and Social Constructionist Consortium of Ecuador (IRYSE) Diego Tapia Figueroa, Ph.D. and Maritza Crespo Balderrama, M.A. In the therapies, in the workshops, in the classes, supervisions, and in the consultancies that we carry out, a strange paradox becomes evident: many people seem to choose to live foolishly instead of deciding to live intelligently, in their different relational contexts. Obviously, it is your responsibility; however, at the same time, at least in Ecuadorian society, social conventions -beliefs in which oppressive and abusive hierarchies are the way to interact in private and work life- lead to accepting alienating, unproductive everyday places of coexistence (in the sense of producing futures) and they…

Relational and Social Constructionist Consortium of Ecuador (IRYSE) Diego Tapia Figueroa, Ph.D. and Maritza Crespo Balderrama, M.A. Confidence to inhabit contradictions with dialogue The themes that arise in therapeutic processes, and the stories that unfold in these dialogues are a concrete and permanent invitation to learn to listen differently to understand authentically. They are privileged occasions to make one’s voice heard in a space where contextualized relational connections are built in favor of the generation of new possibilities. The complexity of the human condition challenges us in every conversation with human beings, who bravely mobilize anguish in the face of countless meaningless voids, and lack of affection without cruelty or…

Relational and Social Constructionist Consortium of Ecuador (IRYSE) Diego Tapia Figueroa, Ph.D. and Maritza Crespo Balderrama, M.A. When starting new projects, cycles, and dreams, we tend to reflect by evaluating what has gone before, either to learn different things or to not repeat what was not useful and at the same time recognize what was useful to us. Questions come to us to welcome creativity, because when we generate questions from curiosity, from the desire to learn, from our new learning, we become intelligent for life. Even more so if they are questions that make the process authentic because they move relationally as they arise from dialogue with the diverse,…

diciembre 8, 2023 Relational and Social Constructionist Consortium of Ecuador (IRYSE) Diego Tapia Figueroa, Ph.D. and Maritza Crespo Balderrama, M.A. “Enjoy every moment of the journey.” (Ovid) “There are much, much better things ahead than those we left behind.” (William Shakespeare) “All pains can be endured if we put them in a narrative or tell a story about them.” (Isak Dinesen) “Supreme wisdom is to have dreams big enough not to lose sight of them while pursuing them.” (William Faulkner) The questions of reflective pragmatics, in this transformative dialogue called therapy, are: Do they contribute? Do they matter? Are they useful? What is different, transformative, and meaningful that we say…

noviembre 24, 2023 Relational and Social Constructionist Consortium of Ecuador (IRYSE) Diego Tapia Figueroa, Ph.D. and Maritza Crespo Balderrama, M.A. We live, organize, and give meaning to our lives through socially constructed narratives. Our stories are not formed in isolation but are relational. The meanings and interpretations that we ascribe to the events and experiences of our lives -including our own personal identity- are created, experienced, and shared by individuals who are in relationship and dialogue with each other. (Harlene Anderson, 2013). “Relational ethics, from the perspective of social constructionism, includes dialogue, collaboration, and a whole range of relational practices. I need other people to coordinate the construction of the…

Relational and Social Constructionist Consortium of Ecuador (IRYSE) Diego Tapia Figueroa, Ph.D. and Maritza Crespo Balderrama, M.A. “Language acquires its capacity for meaning from relationships, from the way it is used when people coordinate with each other and with the world around them… Social constructionist dialogue refers to the processes by which humans generate meaning together… I am the intersection of all my relationships” Kenneth Gergen “We must pay attention to the polyphonies. During the conversation, we can play music that suddenly resonates with another melody that is not ours. They can be rescued for the process whenever they are relevant: what was useful, what could be, what we can…

Relational and Social Constructionist Consortium of Ecuador (IRYSE) Maritza Crespo Balderrama, M.A. and Diego Tapia Figueroa, Ph.D. It is known that relationships change over time and many times, we do not realize that we ourselves have changed. Human beings are constantly evolving and that is evident in our interpersonal relationships, especially with our partners. Sometimes both peers can acknowledge some of their responsibility for the state of affairs. However, the tendency is to blame the other or assume that situations like this commonly happen and “will get better” without each person decisively intervening to generate changes. There are habits that we can practice to maintain healthy couple relationships and promote…