Xiaoping Yan

Discourse Analysis: a Discourse Analytical Study of TV Talk-show Therapy Xiaoping Yan

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. This research has drawn several conclusions based on 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 offer accounts for the nature of the speech event from different layers.