ABSTRACT
This chapter examines a transformation cycle, delineated its four phases, and distilled the specifics of each. It explores nodal moments as instances of symbolic transformation; then how nodal moments in sequence define the trajectory of Progressive Symbolization; and finally, how their invariant core can be the site of therapeutic action. Conflict must be symbolized in order for change to take place. Symbol formation in Melanie Klein's historic 1923 paper is born of the conflicts arising in the earliest phases of human life, appearing first as symbolic equations and then as true symbols. The chapter describes the four components of Progressive Symbolization and discuss how the nodal moments strung together reveal a gradient of change, the understanding of which enhances our portrait of Progressive Symbolization. The first salient component of Progressive Symbolization is the increased mobilization of more complex aspects of mental functioning. The unsymbolized became part of a felt actuality.
