Do Actions Speak Louder Than Words? A Query Into an Enigma in Analytic Theory and Technique

Abstract

While action is increasingly viewed as ubiquitous throughout psychoanalytic treatment, our understanding of why it occurs is limited by rudimentary views of verbalization and action. Dynamic and genetic interpretations of action, usually given at a time of resistance impasse, give only a partial explanation of the phenomenon. The question is explored of why the behavior may appear in the form of action, as well as its implication for interpretive strategies. A major premise is that the role of the ego has been overlooked, especially modes of thinking associated with earlier developmental levels.