Positioning theory is a part of Discursive Psychology (see references below) and has been adopted by systemic practitioners as a way of making sense of people's behaviour in complex systems. It has the potential to contribute to a theoretical understanding of how workers in different agencies become positioned with respect to each other around the needs of their shared client. It is included in the manual as part of the theoretical basis for one of the four key practices of AMBIT, namely Addressing Dis-integration

A basic introduction to Positioning theory can be found in the following eight minute talk by Professor Brian Morgan.



Positioning theory proposes that people are positioned with respect to their rights and duties out of first order self constructions of identity/role (e.g. I am a social worker) and second order constructions (or narratives) of identity/role (e.g. social workers are mainly concerned with child protection). The theory emphasises that the interaction of these constructions is fluid and continuous and is mediated through speech acts i.e. language.

The value for AMBIT is that the theory proposes that workers in a network contribute to the narrative about each other which 'positions' individual workers and impacts on their capacity to fulfill their rights and duties. Such positioning is also done by clients.

From a Positioning Theory perspective, the task for an AMBIT worker is to explore and perhaps challenge polarised constructions of workers within a network (e.g. he's good but she's useless) with a view to enabling workers within a network to adopt authentic positions with respect to their rights and duties.

Two references may be useful for those interested in understanding this theoretical model a little more.

Recent Advances in Positioning Theory (2009) Harre, Moghaddam, Cairnie, Rothbart and Sabat. Theory and Psychology; Vol 19(1), 5-31.

Pond life that ‘know their place’: exploring teaching and learning support assistants’ experiences through positioning theory
(2011) Watson, Bayliss, Pratchett. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education,Vol. 26, No. 1, 100–117.

The latter paper explores the construction of teaching assistants in a school setting using positioning theory.

Positioning theory does not have an extensive range of intervention techniques. Perhaps most useful is that invites curiosity as to how people have become positioned in the way that they have. This may be a useful question to ask in considering network interactions and difficulties.