ABSTRACT
Metacommunications are based on the therapist's subjective sense of what is happening in the therapy in the here-and-now. The therapist relies upon direct observation of the client, continual observation of their own internal state and observation of their subjective sense of what is happening in the relationship on a moment-to-moment basis. Metacommunicative transactions usually contain a process observation, that is, an observation about the unfolding process, or the many unfolding processes, that are happening between the therapist and client. Metacommunicative transactions are in many respects direct interventions that incorporate the characteristics of autonomy: awareness, spontaneity and intimacy. Construction of metacommunicative transactions require that the therapist pays close attention to directly observable events, such as shifts in the client's position, but also to less tangible shifts in the energetic quality of the connection between them, their sense of relative closeness or distance and their sense of the client being relationally open or closed and withdrawn at any given time.
