The Costatement: Objective Evidence for a Science of Subjectivity

Abstract

Sometimes, in conversation, there occurs a particular kind of statement that sheds unusual light on the basic processes by which we affect and are affected by one another. These “costatements” have apparently not been previously noticed. The author offers several examples of them from his own practice and then explores some of their implications. These include their usefulness in monitoring the therapeutic cooperation, registering the effectiveness of the input of each partner to the other, indicating the degree to which the cocreation of their experience is actually discernible, and pointing to the occurrence of peaks of mutuality. The author ponders the bipersonal field out of which these statements arise, and the intriguing question of the role of spirit in such a field.