Janet Bavelas
Janet Beavin Bavelas spent much of her career doing experimental research on the unique features of language use in face-to-face dialogue. Two of these features are of special interest: That participants create their dialogue collaboratively through highly interdependent actions. And that they do so with integrated messages made up of words, prosody, hand and facial gestures, and gaze. (For details and publications, see her archived publication list in the research and publications menu). The findings and methods of these lab experiments on dialogue have applications in psychotherapy, medical communication, computer science, and any area where dialogue is important. In particular, Bavelas often worked with Solution-focused therapists who shared her emphasis on the details of language use.
Bavelas began her research career at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, CA, where she co-authored Pragmatics of human communication with Watzlawick and Jackson. After graduate school at Stanford (M.A. in Communication Research, Ph.D. in Psychology), she joined the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria in 1970, becoming a Full Professor in 1986. Since 2005, she was an active Emeritus Professor, doing basic and applied research as well research consulting and teaching until her death in 2022. Before her death, she published her last book, Face-to-Face Dialogue: Theory, Research, and Applications, in May, 2022.
Bavelas began her research career at the Mental Research Institute in Palo Alto, CA, where she co-authored Pragmatics of human communication with Watzlawick and Jackson. After graduate school at Stanford (M.A. in Communication Research, Ph.D. in Psychology), she joined the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria in 1970, becoming a Full Professor in 1986. Since 2005, she was an active Emeritus Professor, doing basic and applied research as well research consulting and teaching until her death in 2022. Before her death, she published her last book, Face-to-Face Dialogue: Theory, Research, and Applications, in May, 2022.
Peter De Jong
Peter De Jong, Ph.D., MSW is the co-author (with Insoo Kim Berg) of many journal articles and four editions of the book Interviewing for Solutions now translated into twelve languages. He is an emeritus professor of sociology and social work and a former adjunct at the Brief Family Therapy Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where solution focused practices first were developed. He has been an outpatient therapist, case worker, and led trainings with practitioners working in mental health, child welfare and family services, juvenile corrections, and school settings. He currently trains, consults, and conducts microanalysis research on therapy conversations with several colleagues.
Jennifer Gerwing
Jennifer Gerwing (Ph.D., Psychology, University of Victoria, Canada) uses microanalysis in both lab experiments and applied settings. Her experiments and publications focus primarily on the effects of face-to-face dialogue on hand and facial gestures, especially in relation to speech. She applies microanalysis in hospital settings, including her present position as a senior researcher at the Health Services Research Unit at Akershus University Hospital in Oslo, Norway. Jennifer is particularly interested in multimodality, specifically the semantic role that hand and facial gestures play in clinical interactions and how these modalities integrate with speech to present essential information. She is currently studying videotaped clinical interactions in which the patient is not a native speaker. She has also studied interactional coordination, both in home videos of triplets (one of whom was later diagnosed with autism) and also in emergency medical dialogues on the telephone. Jennifer collaborates with researchers in Canada, the US, the UK, and Norway. For publications, please see her ResearchGate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jennifer_Gerwing
Sara Healing
Sara Healing completed her Master of Science degree within the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria. Her primary research interests include examining face to face communication in various applied settings, evaluating and designing valid and reliable assessments, and applying solution-focused approaches within various applied settings (e.g., palliative, mental health, social services, organizations). As part of the International Microanalysis Associates, she is involved in basic research on face-to-face dialogue and teaches local, international, and online professional workshops on communication processes. Her research has been funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and the British Columbia Cancer Agency.
Sara (Smock) Jordan
Sara (Smock) Jordan, PhD, LMFT is the program director, and professor, of UNLV’s Couple and Family Therapy Program. Dr. Jordan’s main research focus is applying solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) to a wide variety of clinical issues. More specifically, Dr. Jordan uses microanalysis of face-to-face dialogue to uncover phenomena in therapeutic dialogues. Her work on applying SFBT with substance abusers has been recognized on SAMHSA’s NREPP registry as an evidence-based approach and she is a co-author of the SFBT training manual. Dr. Jordan has served as the editor-in-chief for the international Journal of Solution Focused Practices and was a founding member of the Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Association.
Harry Korman
Harry Korman is a child psychiatrist and family therapist in private practice at SIKT in Malmö, Sweden. He works mainly as a trainer and supervisor with people wanting to learn Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. His research interest is making co-construction visible in the moment-by-interaction between people.
Christine Tomori
Christine Tomori completed her Master of Science degree within the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria. Her primary research interests include examining communication processes, evaluating and designing assessments, and applying solution-focused approaches within various applied settings (e.g., palliative, mental health, social services, workplace). As part of Victoria Microanalysis Associates, she is involved in basic research on face-to-face dialogue and teaches international professional workshops on communication processes. Her research has been funded by the University of Victoria, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Sara Spencer Foundation, and the British Columbia Cancer Agency.
