The process of therapeutic change involving implicit knowledge: Some implications of developmental observations for adult psychotherapy

Several aspects of development change that are dependent on interactions be tween parent and infant are examined for their value in casting light on th e process of change in adult psychotherapies. First, the domain of implicit knowledge (where changes necessarily occur in nonverbal infants) is identi fied. The vast majority of therapeutic change is found to occur in this dom ain. We then examine the improvised, largely unpredictable, nonlinear envir oments toward mutual goals that characterize the process of parent-infant a nd therapist-patient interactions. Finally, we provide a microdescription o f these processes and provide a terminology for the "moments" that make up their flow. Of particular importance is the "moment of meeting", in which t he participants interact in a way that created a new implicit, intersubject ive understanding of their relationship and permits a new "way-of-being-wit h-the-other". We view "moments of meeting" as the key element in bringing a bout change in implicit knowledge, just as interpretations are thought to b e the key element in bringing about change in explicit knowledge.