Changing the Frame, Changing the Meaning: Frame Semantics in the Counselling Room
Keywords:
frame semantics reframing counselling discourse meaning construction cognitive linguisticsAbstract
The language used during counselling sessions is not neutral, or just a tool, but rather the very medium through which experiences are transformed, identities are built, and possibilities for the future are generated. Frame semantics, though a part of well-established theoretical frameworks within cognitive linguistics and therapeutic discourse studies, is still largely not used as a method of analysis for the small-scale elements of professional helping interactions. This article intends to fill in the gap by presenting a frame-semantic explanation of how meaning evolves in counselling discourses. The article, built on a conceptual framework of Frame Semantics (Fillmore, 1982; Matsumoto, 2025), interactional framing theory (Gordon & Tannen, 2023; Vicari, 2023), cognitive psychology of framing (Flusberg et al., 2024; Al-Shboul, 2025), and narrative-therapeutic discourse (Aritzis, 2026; Napitupulu et al., 2024; Rajaei, 2026), maintains that the process of reframing is the main semantic tool by which meaning change is produced in counselling." The paper presents a "conceptual frame-shifting model" that "depicts how the switching on of different interpretive frames leads to the reorganisation of the client's perceptions of responsibility, agency, identity, and emotional capacity. Furthermore, the research places these results within vocational and professional communication settings, such as career counselling, workplace coaching, and mentoring, where framing skills are considered a valuable professional asset. The article makes a significant addition to applied linguistics through its illustration that, essentially, the counselling room is an "interactional semantic workplace".
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