Plenary Speakers

Auli Hakulinen (University of Helsinki)
Professor Emerita Auli Hakulinen pioneered in the CA research in Finland. She is also one of the leading international scholars who have developed the core ideas of interactional linguistics. Hakulinen has investigated the syntax of spoken language, and she was the leading editor of the comprehensive volume on descriptive grammar of Finnish language (Iso suomen kielioppi, 2004). One of her recent research topics is emotion in the syntax and prosody of spoken language, e.g. in particles and responsive actions.

Peter Muntigl (University of Ghent, Simon Fraser University)
Dr. Muntigl has investigated emotion, affect and empathy in different psychotherapy approaches and in couples therapy, using conversation analysis as method. He has also done ground-breaking work in exploring the interconnections between clinical and CA concepts by e.g. examining ruptures and repair in the therapeutic alliance.

William B. Stiles (Miami University)
Professor Stiles has for decades been one of the key figures in psychotherapy research. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods he has investigated central phenomena of psychotherapy such as assimilation of problematic experiences and therapist’s responsiveness. Stiles has been the President of the Society for Psychotherapy Research and the editor of the journal Psychotherapy Research.

Discussants

Lorenza Mondada (University of Basel & University of Helsinki)
Professor Mondada has done extensive research on social interaction from an ethnomethodological and conversation analytic perspective. She is well known for her work on multimodality, such as the use of gaze, body posture and body movements in interaction. Her work has explored a diversity of settings e.g. surgical theatres, meetings in multinational companies, family interactions and encounters in public spaces.

Sanna Vehviläinen (Senior researcher, Finnish Institution of Occupational Health)
Dr. Vehviläinen is one of the pioneers of the CA of psychotherapy through her studies on psychoanalytic interaction. She has also done extensive work on counselling interactions. Furthermore, she is a professional work counselor and also engaged in training of counselors and academic supervisors.

Christian Heath (King’s College, London)
Professor Heath is a leading specialist in video-based studies of social interaction. Drawing on ethnomethodology and conversation analysis, he has studied extensively the interplay of talk, bodily conduct and the use of tools and technologies. The interactional organisation of emotions – such as embarrassment, pain, and astonishment – is one of the central themes in his work.

Leena Ehrling (The Finnish Association for Mental Health)
Dr. Ehrling is a clinical psychotherapist whose work involves a strong interest for furthering the dialogue between research and clinical work. Drawing on conversation analysis and other qualitative methods she has studied a variety of clinical settings, such as psychiatric assessment interviews, motivational interviewing and multidimensional family therapy.