‘But how often does this happen?’: Problem reducing responses by coaches in email counselling

Abstract

This chapter explores the interactional dynamics of email counselling from a conversation analytic (CA) perspective. The conceptual apparatus of CA has been successfully applied to study turn-taking and the sequential placement of email messages (cf., Stommel, 2012; Stommel & Van der Houwen, forthcoming; Vayreda & Antaki, 2009), as well as the ways in which accountability is managed in online talk to do with health (cf., Guise, Widdicombe, & McKinlay, 2007; Lamerichs & Te Molder, 2003). Participants’ interactional concerns in email counselling are therefore treated as an empirical matter and not a priori different from speakers’ orientations in spoken interaction.