If we are going to talk about communication, I guess we'd better begin at the
beginning.
Okay, maybe not quite that far back. But almost.
The Constitutive Theory of Communication
The
Constitutive Model of Communication is the idea that communication “constitutes”
or creates our perception or experience of the reality we inhabit.
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| You are Powerful |
I
am reminded of some of the thoughts that went through my mind as I went through
the CAPSA advocate training program. CAPSA is a local shelter and advocate
group for survivors of domestic abuse and rape. I have long agreed with the
sentiment that words matter, and in conversations on the difficult topic of
abuse and rape, or during my CAPSA training sessions, every time I heard a
certain word, I cringed. Literally, I felt myself contracting, becoming
smaller. The word is victim. As a word it conjures up a sense of
helplessness, tragedy, loss and suffering; as a level of self-identification it
creates a sense of helplessness,
tragedy, loss, and suffering. My reaction to the
“word-that-shall-not-be-spoken” became clearer to me when I learned about the
Constitutive Theory of Communication.
