ABSTRACT
Although psychoanalysis has developed a rich understanding of the self and the object, we suggest that the dyad as a system of communication is less well conceptualized. The dyad has always been of interest to psychoanalysis, but not until recently has it begun to be recognized as central to an understanding of development and of psychoanalytic theory and practice. A dyadic systems view of communication can elucidate the nature of interpersonal process and interactive regulation in the dyad. It has implications for our concepts of psychic structure and its formation and can facilitate an integration of one-person and two-person psychology models.
