The sandwich model of therapeutic action: the music and dance in the therapy with a traumatized child.

This paper represents an effort to integrate current developmental theory with psychoanalytic theory in order to study therapeutic action. I conceptualize therapeutic action as taking place simultaneously in multiple domains of activity of the therapeutic dyad. The "sandwich model" includes two additional domains besides what can be explained by psychoanalytic theory. These additional domains do not describe change in linear terms, but instead obey the general principles of non-linear systems. They deal with different temporal levels from that of psychoanalytic theory. Instead of explaining change that takes place in minutes, hours, and years, they describe change that takes place in very, very large and very, very small dimensions of time - centuries, and seconds and split seconds. The very large temporal level describes, for example, evolution and the formation of rivers. The very small temporal level describes the micro- process of interaction in the analytic dyad; this level is smaller than that required to form language and is therefore non-verbal. It comprises what one might call the "music and dance" of therapeutic action. My hypothesis is that including these additional domains enhances the understanding of therapeutic action.

Keywords: Therapeutic action, developmental theory, sandwich model, micro-process, micro-analysis, non-verbal meanings

• Il processo referenziale: cognizione o coscienza incarnata? Alberto Lorenzini, in RICERCA PSICOANALITICA 3/2015 pp.67
  DOI: 10.3280/RPR2015-003006

Harrison Alexandra Murray, Il modello a sandwich dell’azione terapeutica: "musica e danza" nella terapia con il bambino traumatizzato in "RICERCA PSICOANALITICA" 3/2012, pp 9-24, DOI: 10.3280/RPR2012-003002