More About Couples on the Couch: Approaching Psychoanalytic Couple Psychotherapy from an Expanded Perspective

Description

Following the critically acclaimed Couples on the Couch, this volume offers further compelling ideas about couple psychotherapy from a psychoanalytic perspective. The book well represents the foundational basis of the Tavistock model and draws deeply from the work of Freud, Klein, Bion, Meltzer and the contemporary Kleinians, while expanding the theoretical model by featuring ideas about couple relationships written from a variety of psychoanalytic frameworks. These additional frameworks include Winnicottian Theory, Fairbairn’s Object Relations Theory, Link Theory, Self Psychology, Attachment Theory, Mentalization Theory, and Contemporary Relational Theory. This rich array of theoretical models, presented with exemplifying clinical material, results in a diverse assembly of papers that offer the reader an in-depth and complex view of a psychoanalytic approach to understanding and working with the dynamics of couple relationships. With clear clinical guidance, this book will be invaluable for all psychoanalysts and psychotherapists working with couples. Cover Endorsement Page Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgements Credits list List of contributors Chapter 1: Re-visioning creativity in couple psychoanalysis: The importance of Winnicott and Bollas in clinical practice The internal couple Ideas of creativity: Winnicott Ideas of creativity: Bollas The receptive unconscious Psychic genera and psychic trauma Idiom and its relationship to the self The role of real objects Technique Gesture Repetition Compliance Mood and emotional atmosphere Use of objects Conclusion References Chapter 2: Discussion of “Re-visioning creativity in couple psychoanalysis”: The importance of Winnicott and Bollas in clinical practice Introduction Creativity Polarities in creativity Art as analogy Clinical imagination Repetition Facilitating environment and technique Mood and atmosphere The use of objects and transitional space/compliance Trauma, psychic genera, and dissociation Working with trauma in couples Conclusion References Chapter 3: Love as creative illusion and its place in psychoanalytic couple psychotherapy References Chapter 4: Discussion of “Love as creative illusion and its place in psychoanalytic couple psychotherapy” The embodied, visceral register of being (in love) “Reality” and the experience (creative illusion) of feeling “real” in the couples References Chapter 5: Infidelity as manic defence Introduction Problems with mourning loss and infidelity The crisis of an affair Amy and Dave Infidelity in context Amy and Dave Theoretical conceptualisations in the psychoanalytic literature The Oedipus complex and the contemporary family The Kleinian view of the Oedipus complex Splitting and triangulations in infidelity Rivalrous triangulation Split-object triangulations Amy and Dave Mourning Manic defence Amy and Dave Conclusion References Chapter 6: Discussion of “Infidelity as manic defence” Loss and disillusionment in a couple relationship Amy and Dave Conclusion References Chapter 7: Viewing the absence of sex from couple relationships through the “core complex” lens Introduction Theoretical backdrop The attachment narrative The Oedipal narrative The “claustro–agoraphobic” narrative The couples Couple A A clinical vignette Couple B A clinical vignette Discussion Conclusion References Chapter 8: Discussion of “Viewing the absence of sex from couple relationships through the ‘core complex’ lens” Mr and Mrs A Can Oedipus, the internal couple (individual and shared), and the core complex coexist? Conclusion References Chapter 9: Lesbian and gay couple relationships: When internalised homophobia gets in the way of couple creativity Introduction Application of psychoanalytic concepts to therapy with lesbian and gay couples The creative couple state of mind and the relationship as a third Internalised homophobia – a perfect host for the couple's superego Unconscious beliefs and internalised homophobia Internalised homophobia and paralysis: the therapist as “homophobic other” Concluding thoughts References Chapter 10: Discussion of “Lesbian and gay couple relationships”: When internalised homophobia gets in the way of couple creativity References Chapter 11: Lost – and found – in translation: Do Ronald Fairbairn’s ideas still speak usefully to 21st-century couple therapists? Introduction Brief biography John and Simon Key Fairbairnian concepts applicable in couple psychotherapy Conclusion References Chapter 12: Discussion of “Lost – and found – in translation”: Do Ronald Fairbairn’s ideas still speak usefully to 21st-century couple therapists? References Chapter 13: Approaching couples through the lens of Link Theory New ideas The couple as the use of a plural A common beginning The need for representation: the narcissistic foundation of couples Paradise: origin as illusion The link and its discontent A short illustration Final remarks References Chapter 14: Discussion of “Approaching couples through the lens of Link Theory” References Chapter 15: The application of contemporary Self Psychology to couple psychotherapy Introduction Understanding couples and their difficulties Treatment principles and methods Case example Discussion Conclusion References Chapter 16: Discussion of “The application of contemporary Self Psychology to couple psychotherapy” British Object Relations theory and the Tavistock model of working with couples Narcissistic relating Different technical considerations between the two models References Chapter 17: Co-parent therapy and the parenting plan as transitional phenomena : Working psychoanalytically with high-conflict separating and divorcing couples Identifying high-conflict separating and divorcing couples High-conflict separation and divorce in the US legal system Co-parent therapy The parenting plan The parenting plan as a transitional object Clinical vignettes Conclusion References Chapter 18: Discussion of “Co-parent therapy and the parenting plan as transitional phenomena”: Working psychoanalytically with high-conflict separating and divorcing couples The provision of orientation The provision of hope and development The protection of children The case illustration of Carol and Ron Contraindications to the use of a parenting plan Final comment References Index