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Implicit relational knowing: Its role in development and psychoanalytic treatment
Author(s) -
LyonsRuth Karlen,
BruschweilerStern Nadia,
Harrison Alexandra M.,
Morgan Alexander C.,
Nahum Jeremy P.,
Sander Louis,
Stern Daniel N.,
Tronick Edward Z.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0355(199823)19:3<282::aid-imhj3>3.0.co;2-o
Subject(s) - psychoanalytic theory , psychology , agency (philosophy) , unconscious mind , field (mathematics) , dyad , interpretation (philosophy) , event (particle physics) , dual (grammatical number) , transactional leadership , transactional analysis , transformative learning , epistemology , relational view , relational theory , cognitive psychology , social psychology , psychoanalysis , developmental psychology , computer science , art , philosophy , physics , knowledge management , mathematics , literature , quantum mechanics , pure mathematics , programming language
It is increasingly apparent that “something more” than interpretation is needed to bring about change in psychoanalytic treatment. Drawing on clinical and developmental observations, we propose that interactional processes from birth onward give rise to a form of procedural knowledge regarding how to do things with intimate others, knowledge we call implicit relational knowing. This knowing is distinct from conscious verbalizable knowledge and from the dynamic unconscious. The implicit relational knowing of patient and therapist intersect to create an intersubjective field that includes reasonably accurate sensings of each person's ways of being with others, sensings we call the “real relationship.” This intersubjective field becomes more complex and articulated with repeated patient–therapist encounters, giving rise to emergent new possibilities for more coherent and adaptive forms of interaction. During a transactional event that we term a “moment of meeting,” a new dyadic possibility crystallizes when the two persons achieve the dual goals of complementary fitted actions and joint intersubjective recognition in a new form. We argue that such moments of meeting shift the relational anticipations of each partner and allow for new forms of agency and shared experience to be expressed and elaborated. © 1998 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health