Sanctioned and Non-Sanctioned Narratives in Institutional Discourse

This article describes the conventions of sanctioned and non-sanctioned narratives in two institutional discourses, medical encounters and support groups. In the well-established institutional discourse of medicine, sanctioned narratives are specifically invited and non-sanctioned narratives are effectively deflected through standard conventions. In the less well-established institutional discourse of support groups, the line between sanctioned and non-sanctioned narratives is considerably blurred and the conventions for deflecting a non-sanctioned narrative are not necessarily effective. (Medical communication, Institutional Discourse, Conversation Analysis, Narrative Analysis)