Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –
© Higher School of Economics
The Higher School of Economics hosted a round table entitled “Psychotherapeutic Lexicon in the Public Space,” which brought together psychologists, linguists, sociologists, and cultural scientists. They discussed the role of psychotherapy and psychotherapeutic terms in the life of a modern person, as well as the influence of AI on this area.
There is a disturbing tendency in society to turn psychological vocabulary into an instrument of aggression, noted the head of the department, opening the round table “Psychotherapeutic vocabulary in the public space”. Scientific and educational laboratory of linguistic conflictology and modern communication practices, Research Professor Schools of Philological Sciences Faculty of Humanities HSE Maxim Krongauz.
Words intended to help in therapy, such as “devaluation,” “abuse,” “bullying,” “victim blaming,” “gaslighting,” and “toxic,” are increasingly used to scapegoat, creating an atmosphere of “invitation to execution.”
“This aggressiveness of words, which seem to come from such a noble area, where, perhaps, in a figurative sense, they treat people, is suspicious. Why do they treat with such aggressive words?” Krongauz asked. Referring to psychotherapist Daniil Ostrovsky, he pointed out the danger of transferring therapeutic principles to public ethics.
Fyodor Konorov, a teacher and supervisor at the Moscow Gestalt Institute, noted the explosive growth of the therapeutic field, which has led to the fact that “anyone can now call themselves a psychologist,” creating risks of incorrect use of terminology. He also drew attention to the fact that vocabulary “coming out of psychologists’ offices” is not new, but now, along with it, words that are pseudo-diagnoses (“bipolar,” “anxiety”) are actively used. He concluded that this deprives a person of the opportunity to deal with their feelings differently.
Research Fellow Department of Psychology Faculty of Social Sciences HSE Irina Bulanova presented the results of a study on how young people use psychotherapeutic vocabulary. She identified four main functions.
The first is overcoming experiences. Young people use terms to make it easier to understand their inner world and communicate with others.
The second is the normative function, when vocabulary defines social norms related to psychological health, but can lead to the marginalization of those who do not meet these norms.
The third is the function of social identity: young people identify themselves as representatives of a certain group, distinct from the older generation.
The fourth is the instrumental function. Here, vocabulary is used to regulate social interactions, especially in situations of emotional tension.
“Naming itself, to a certain extent, helps to facilitate… And the most important thing is that they develop a language with which they can communicate with each other about the contents of their inner world, and it seems that this has an even greater coping effect,” noted Irina Bulanova.
She believes that such vocabulary may contain social norms related to psychological health. Despite the benefits in overcoming difficulties and normalizing experiences, excessive use of vocabulary may lead to the formation of rigid social norms and potential conflicts between generations.
“It seems to me that this is a subject for a separate study, but, in truth, it is very interesting not only the content, but also the structure of these norms, how strict they are, and how much we thereby contribute to some marginalization of those who do not fit into this norm,” she concluded.
Associate Professor Department of Analysis of Social Institutions Oksana Mikhailova, a professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, spoke about the “therapeutic turn” in culture, when psychology is becoming increasingly popular and influential. She noted that the media plays a dual role, both in disseminating knowledge about psychology and in simplifying and distorting it.
“Media managers and media culture producers realized that if they take into account some rules transmitted by psychology, they will be able to attract more attention from the audience. And so, in fact, they began to involve them in content production,” Oksana Mikhailova explained.
She also noted that individualization associated with therapeutic culture can lead to ignoring social problems: “We don’t notice some problems that actually have social prerequisites when we use this therapeutic language. That is, we begin to think that everything depends only on us.”
The sociologist identified such negative aspects of this process as individualization of problems, excessive interest in oneself, pathologizing of the normal, increased anxiety, cognitivism, self-discipline (in the context of social order) and increased inequality. At the same time, she also noted positive trends: drawing attention to problems, democratization of gender roles, use of terms in social movements.
Oksana Moroz, a cultural scientist and associate professor at the British Higher School of Art and Design and Tyumen State University, analyzed how the concept of boundaries is discussed in various online contexts — from quality press to brand media and social networks. She pointed out that the appropriation of therapeutic vocabulary occurs not only at the level of individual words, but also at the level of the therapeutic plot. At the same time, there is a tendency toward universalization, in which the construction of boundaries occurs based on one signal of discomfort.
She also emphasized that the use of psychological vocabulary can be a way to form an emotional community, but often becomes a tool for commodification and obtaining social capital. This tendency, the expert believes, leads to difficulties in defining the boundaries of what is permitted, erasing the line between constructive criticism and bullying. “The best way to protect your own boundaries is to say that I know how to protect my own boundaries. And if you ask me questions about how I do it wrong, you will, of course, violate them,” the expert noted.
Researcher at the Research and Educational Laboratory of Linguistic Conflictology and Modern Communicative Practices of the Faculty of Humanities at the National Research University Higher School of Economics Elizaveta Gromenko presented a linguistic analysis of psychotherapeutic vocabulary in the Russian language of the 21st century. She noted that in recent years there has been an increase in the use of words such as “abuse”, “trauma”, “mindfulness”, and that these words are acquiring new meanings, especially borrowings.
“All these words have long been present in the Russian language, but in the 21st century they acquire a new meaning under the influence of psychological practice, when a person turns to categorizing some of his internal processes,” Gromenko explained.
She also noted that “trauma” and “mindfulness” have become key concepts in psychotherapeutic vocabulary and that the entire beginning of the 21st century is taking place under their auspices. Many words that appeared in the early 2000s have begun to actively adapt since 2015 and generate derivatives, such as “abuser,” “gaslighter,” and “toxic.”
Irina Fufaeva, a research fellow at the Research and Educational Laboratory of Linguistic Conflictology and Modern Communication Practices, shared her experience of interacting with AI as a psychotherapist, noting a change in the trend in patients’ self-designations. While game designations (“bipolar,” “borderline”) were popular before, now there is a refusal to build identity through illness. She noted that AI in support mode (without censure and moralization) is met with acceptance and gives coaching advice. She emphasized that interaction with artificial intelligence as a psychotherapist can create the illusion of support for employees, but the lack of empathy and contextuality can lead to undesirable consequences.
Leading researcher at the Research and Educational Laboratory of Linguistic Conflictology and Modern Communicative Practices Valery Shulginov conducted an experiment to test how language models understand the concept of abuse. He found that models often tend to agree with users, which can lead to false positive diagnostics. To improve efficiency, it is necessary to use non-standard role-playing situations, but the training of AI can create traps for users.
The participants of the seminar agreed that further development of methods of teaching and educating the population in the field of correct use of psychological terminology is necessary. It is advisable to create interdisciplinary teams of scientists who will be able to thoroughly study and systematize existing trends. A proposal was also made to organize regular seminars and forums aimed at further studying the features of the transformation of Russian speech under the influence of psychological concepts and methods.
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