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Dr. Steven Knoblauch, a psychoanalyst who has been trained in the relational and intersubjective traditions, has written several engaging and original papers. In this first book he has integrated these papers as well as new clinical material within a well-conceptualized framework. Dr. Knoblauch builds on the tradition of current infant researchers—Daniel Stern, Beatrice Beebe and others—applying their findings to adult treatment. Refreshingly, Dr. Knoblauch organizes a theoretical paradigm around a musical metaphor based on his personal experience as a jazz musician.
Knoblauch incorporates relational and intersubjective perspectives (Aron, 1996; Brandchaft, 1993; Mitchell, 1997; Stolorow & Atwood, 1992) and current infant research studies (Stern et al., 1998) and examines pre-verbal, pre-symbolic interactions in the therapeutic process. Knoblauch uses his musical background to create musical metaphors as organizing frameworks for “improvised” enactments. His work attends to the non-verbal aspects of the treatment, underscoring the importance of tone, cadence, gestures and space. Interpretations, Knoblauch believes, generally occur at a later stage of the treatment when both parties in the analytic dyad have had the opportunity to reflect upon and symbolize the “now moments,” as Knoblauch calls them. At times, Knoblauch maintains, interpretations may not be necessary to bring about therapeutic change.
Analogous to the practice of music, Knoblauch's book is organized around rhythm, tone, improvisation, accompaniment, counterpoint, harmony and dissonance as dimensions of the therapeutic engagement. His main point is that the non-verbal interchange within the clinical encounter has not been sufficiently examined as a vital component of analytic process and analytic action. He maintains that these interchanges, or “now moments” need not be verbally interpreted in order to bring about structural or behavioral change, or what Stern would call “procedural change” (Stern et al