ABSTRACT
From a dynamic systems perspective, I conceive of the therapeutic dialogue as a collaborative endeavor in which each member of the dyad makes a unique contribution. The central organizing feature of complementary moments that occur during this dialogue is the recognition process, the process of fi tting together that requires that each member of the dyad modify itself and adjust to the other so as to arrive at the best state of coherence, continuity, and self-organization. During such episodes, through mindsharing, patients nonconsciously attempt to fi nd a match between their selfobject and adjunctive needs and the functions available in the environment that would fi ll in those needs, whereas therapists are drawn to examine their responses as indicators of what the patients may need. However, members of the dyad fi lter their perceptions of the others through their own preconceptions about what is transpiring in the process.
