A Principal Reflects on Shame and School Bullying

This article considers the contribution that consideration of the moment-to-moment process in psychoanalysis can make to an understanding of termination. Information on moment-to-moment interactions related to termination is developed from videotape microanalysis of termination discussions—focusing on a child analysis, but including an example from an adult analysis—as viewed through the structure of a developmental model (Tronick's dyadic expansion of consciousness model) that is consistent with dynamic systems theory. The theory emphasizes the co-creation of meaning that occurs in an analysis, as indicated by verbal, as well as nonverbal, interactions that are apparent in the videotape. The insights from this approach can enrich the traditional psychoanalytic views on termination by emphasizing the ongoing developmental process, with termination more of an important step in this process than a specific ending.