Communication and Information Processes in the Use of Psychological Reification for Improving Public Health
Communication and Information Processes in the Use of Psychological Reification for Improving Public Health

Summary/Abstract: Psychological reification refers to the communicative process by which dynamic mental experiences are linguistically transformed into rigid, seemingly objective “things.” Although widely discussed in philosophy, sociology, and linguistic critique, reification has not yet been systematically examined as a communication-based process within clinical psychology and psychotherapy. This article proposes psychological reification as a transdiagnostically relevant phenomenon that emerges in self-descriptions and interpersonal communication and can also occur within the therapeutic relationship. It operates as a linguistic-cognitive mechanism that can foster rigid self-images, restrict psychological flexibility, and hinder change processes. From this perspective, reification is understood not merely as an individual cognitive distortion, but as a communicatively mediated mechanism shaped by linguistic conventions and shared informational frameworks. Methodologically, the article is based on a theoretical-conceptual and language-analytical approach that systematizes forms of psychological reification and illustrates them through selected clinical examples. The aim is to situate psychological reification within the field of communication and information processes in mental health contexts and to demonstrate its relevance for identifying and deconstructing dysfunctional meanings in psychotherapeutic communication.

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