Sociology Plus
Confessional Technologies Definition
Confessional technologies is a term coined by Michel Foucault for the social practices — combinations of ideas and activities — that encourage people to see themselves as needing, or benefiting from, the help of psychiatrists, therapists, social workers, and similar professionals in order to become “normal.”
Unpacking the Term
Like much of Foucault’s vocabulary, the English translation misleads as much as it informs: he does not mean “technologies” in the mechanical sense at all, but practices of the self. The “confessional” element is clearer — it borrows the Catholic notion that the burden of sin can be lifted by admitting it to a professional empowered to prescribe rituals for its discharge. The word “technologies” appears chosen to underline Foucault’s claim that these methods of policing the self are a peculiarly modern development.