Previewing and the therapeutic use of metaphor

This paper proposes a new technique for diagnosing and treating conflict in adult patients. Referred to as previewing, the technique is grounded in the developmental progression from somatic modes of representation to symbolic modes of representation. During early life, infants experience the world primarily through sensory phenomena. Later in childhood, however, symbolic modes of representation become pre-eminent. The manner in which an individual represents conflict reflects this developmental progression. For example, if the patient manifests a psychosomatic symptom, it is likely that the conflict has been represented on a physical level and thus emerges in somatic form; if the conflict is expressed as a metaphor, however, it has probably been represented on a cognitive level and thus emerges as a symbol. Previewing, a technique derived from early life interaction between mother and infant, incorporates both the somatic and symbolic components of psychological disorganization and may therefore be of benefit in psychotherapy.