Psychoanalytic Theory and Psychotherapy: A Dynamic Systems View of Change

This paper explores the application of nonlinear dynamic systems theory and concepts to the investigation of the psychotherapeutic situation. Although dynamic systems theory was originally applied in the study of chemistry, mathematics, and physics—not initially for its application to psychotherapy—its emphasis on contextualization provides a rich platform for the reconsideration of how change occurs in the therapeutic dyad. This paper first reviews some tenets of dynamic systems theory, in particular the general processes of system change including the introduction of novelty and perturbation. It then examines some psychoanalytic theories from a dynamic systems vantage point. This is followed by the presentation of two cases that illustrate the application of systems concepts to clinical work. This paper concludes that psychoanalytic psychotherapy from the perspective of dynamic systems theory views moments of change as unpredictable, soft assembled, and emergent in the dialogue and context created mutually by therapist and patient.