ABSTRACT
In my analytic practice I work with a variety of patients, mostly adults (on the couch), some couples, and a few children. Thinking in movement terms has become second nature due to an extensive background in movement observation and assessment (Kalish, 1976); such thinking precedes and/or occurs simultaneously with listening. It has become my practice to utilize what I refer to as “muscle memory” in my own body as I observe and/or pick up aspects of my patients’ body movement patterns as they talk. This method gives me an additional instrument for understanding what is occurring with the patient non-verbally. Repeatedly, it validates hypotheses for formulating interpretations. Later, I will illustrate the method with specific clinical examples. First, it is important to define and to elaborate what is meant by “movement thinking” and how I have come to make use of this concept as a psychoanalyst.
