Towards a definition of the term and concept of interaction

Although often used descriptively, the concept 'interaction' has not been an inherently psychoanalytic term. It suggests an external or social purview, rather than an intrapsychic one. If, however, the term were qualified to convey 'experienced' interaction and a clear delineation were maintained between the point-of-view of the patient and that of the analyst or other outside observer, 'interaction' might then be credibly employed within the psychoanalytic lexicon. For in this way the investigative terrain remains the patient's psychical reality--with its conscious and unconscious, conflictual, defensive and imaginative expressions still our fundamental purview. Clinical examples are offered to illustrate a sharpened focus on interaction as seen from the patient's point-of-view to highlight the implications of this position in furthering our psychoanalytic inquiry.