What Happens Next? A Developmental Model of Therapeutic Spontaneity: Commentary on Paper by Philip A. Ringstrom

Philip Ringstrom tackles a neglected but important topic—therapeutic improvisation. In my view, this is better termed spontaneity. A central issue is the therapist's freedom of mind, which, in the typical case, is restricted by the transferential–countertransferential field. I argue that the value of spontaneity, on the part of both partners, lies in its contribution to a growing “aliveness” in an individual previously “dead.” In this commentary, three forms of spontaneity are distinguished: The therapist, immersed in the patient's experience, is able to resonate with and amplify a moment of vitality in the patient's expression; in pseudospontaneity, the therapist believes he or she is responding spontaneously but is acting under the influence of the transferential–countertranferential field; and there is a spontaneity in the therapist's “leap to freedom” from the constriction of this field. In that this expression is genuine, and new to the patient, it may have benefit in the manner of a “corrective emotional experience.” The example of therapeutic spontaneity that is given suggests that, ideally, all therapeutic language is, in a nonsalient way, spontaneous—fresh and unscripted. In this example, the therapist's form of responsiveness leads to the emergence of a larger, reflective form of consciousness in the patient—a state toward which the therapeutic endeavor is directed.