Separating mental willingness from bodily capacity is key strategy. Patients position mind as willing agent, body as limiting force. This preserves moral identity while claiming physical limitation. Practitioners challenge this separation to encourage behavior change.

State University of New York at Binghamton

- Willing But Unable Identity
- Agency Attribution
- Agency-Accountability Link
- Mind-Body Contrast Management

Agency Management: How agency is attributed, resisted, and negotiated

Lester, J. N. (Ed.). (2021). Discursive Psychology and Disability. Palgrave Studies in Discursive Psychology. Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Reference For: Discursive Psychology and Disability

Mind-Body Contrast Management

Patients contrast mental willingness with physical limitations. They present wanting to function but being prevented by their body. This construction manages moral identity and accountability. It establishes pain as authentic and burdensome.

Willing But Unable Identity

Attributing agency makes past actions accountable. If you choose to lie down, why did you choose inactivity? This provokes defensive responses from patients. Conversations spiral into frustrating circular patterns.

Agency-Accountability Link

Using "you lie down" versus "you have to lie down" matters. Active voice positions patient as choosing their actions. This makes accountability and responsibility relevant to the interaction. It opens possibility for different choices in future.

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