A Conversation With Dr. Harlene Anderson About First Conversations: Intakes From a Collaborative Dialogic Stance

Collaborative dialogic practice (also known as collaborative therapy) distinguishes itself from more linear approaches by embracing the ideas of curiosity, not-knowing, and conversational change. This article explores the particularness of this approach regarding the concept of an “intake” session and how doing an intake from this lens might differ from other approaches. The concepts in this article were generated from a conversation that Dr. Harlene Anderson held with a group of master's-level graduate students around the subject. Sample dialogue from that exchange is presented, along with a discussion of implications for practice and how a collaborative approach to intakes can be beneficial to the therapy experience for the client and the therapist.