ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses patterning and linking as a particular segment of a psychoanalytic treatment. Patterning and linking emerge out of the rhythmic underpinnings of affective experiences. One of the most basic elements of human interactional experience to which Freud and Breuer first gave attention was patterning. Freud saw the analyst's work as making links between what is happening in the session to what happened in the past in order to dissolve the barrier of repressed memories. Complexity theory suggests that recognition is an elusive process because, as we interact with others, we are continuously changing, sometimes dramatically, but often in subtle ways. The process of navigating seems to catalyze experiences of containment and formulation because the struggle to attend to the subtle, below-the-surface emotional cues creates a sense of shared struggle, shared commitment, a we-ness. Thus, we and our patients contribute to recognition process, expanding our sense of self and its impact on others, and their emotional impact on us.
