Marco’s expertise is in conversation analysis and healthcare communication. His PhD focused on how support workers talk to clients within addiction rehabilitation programs that use the Therapeutic Community approach. He has recently been awarded a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Research Fellowship by the European Commission to continue his line of research on Therapeutic Communities (TC). Marco is currently focusing on communication practices involved in challenging clients’ behaviours and perspectives that are seen as dysfunctional or unhelpful for the therapeutic process. He is also examining how TC members initiate and resolve episodes of conflictual communication.
Marco’s research explores some of the building blocks of healthcare communication: sharing experiences and problems, addressing client complaints and requests, and managing delicate topics such as terminal illness and dying. Marco is using his research findings in the design of CARM workshops to improve professional-client communication in the addiction rehabilitation sector.
Marco is also collaborating with Ruth Parry on a study on communication in end of life care.
