Content interpretations and process interpretations

In successful psychotherapy pathogenic psychological contents (e.g. thoughts, dreams, emotions, perceptions of the body, etc.) are subject to an emotional process of transformation. This process can be observed, described and conceptualized independently of the contents at work in the particular case. Interestingly, several non-linear properties of this process of self-organization become apparent by clinical observation. Typical patterns can be discerned in the interplay of the various levels of representation (physical, emotional, cognitive), in the regulation of emotional intensity, and in the alternating prominence of negative and positive emotional material (bipolar pattern). The transformation process has rhythmic, almost musical, qualities. This paper describes this processual pattern, discusses various psychoanalytical process models, and proposes a process-oriented therapeutic method. In this type of process-oriented therapy, to the traditional interpretation of contents interpretations of the process are added, whenever necessary.