The “Something More” than Interpretation Revisited: Sloppiness and Co-Creativity in the Psychoanalytic Encounter

Features of dynamical systems thinking can illuminate insufficiently recognized levels of psychoanalytic process. A central aspect of dynamical models is that changes in complex systems are unpredictable and arise out of the interaction of elements. Examination of the moment-by-moment micro-foregrou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the American Psychoanalytic Association Vol. 53; no. 3; pp. 693 - 729
Main Authors HOUSE, Jonathan, PORTUGES, Stephen, MAYES, Linda C, LITOWITZ, Bonnie E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA The American Psychoanalytic Association 2005
SAGE Publications
Sage
Subjects
Biological and medical sciences
Communication
Creativity
Dreams
Dynamic models
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Intention
Interpretation
Intersubjectivity
Motivation
Physician-Patient Relations
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalytic cure
Psychoanalytic Interpretation
Psychoanalytic Therapy - methods
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Systems Theory
Tape Recording
Human
Therapeutic process
Transcription
Subjective experience
Therapeutical request
Sound material
Infantile experience
Recurrent
Victimology
Creativity
Non determinism
Therapeutic relation
Case study
Psychoanalytic cure
Treatment
Early traumatism
Intention
Sexual abuse
Woman
Suicide ideation
Dynamic model
Antecedent
Comparative study
Content analysis
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Summary:Features of dynamical systems thinking can illuminate insufficiently recognized levels of psychoanalytic process. A central aspect of dynamical models is that changes in complex systems are unpredictable and arise out of the interaction of elements. Examination of the moment-by-moment micro-foreground, or local level, of psychoanalytic sessions led to the conclusion that indeterminacy and surprise are inherent properties of intersubjective systems. This indeterminacy, or sloppiness, comprises several interrelated features of the dialogue: “fuzzy” intentionalizing, unpredictability, improvisation, variation, and redundancy. Audiotaped transcripts of two analytic sessions illustrate how these sloppy features generate unpredictable and potentially creative elements that contribute to psychotherapeutic change.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:0003-0651
1941-2460
DOI:10.1177/00030651050530030401