Shared Phantasy and Therapeutic Structure in a Brief Marital Psychotherapy |
| |
| Authors: | Christopher Clulow Barbara Dearnley Frederick Balfour |
| |
| Institution: | Christopher Clulow is Deputy Chairman, Institute of Marital Studies, Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology.;Barbara Dearnley is Senior Marital Psychotherapist, Institute of Marital Studies, Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology.;Frederick Balfour is a Psycho-Analyst, Associate member of the Institute of Marital Studies, Senior Clinical Psychologist, Tavistock Clinic. |
| |
| Abstract: | ABSTRACT In this, the first of two related papers, the process is examined by which a couple were helped to separate, temporarily and emotionally, through a brief offer of psychodynamic therapy. The therapy comprised six weekly sessions of one hour's duration, an input often considered inadequate for effective analytic psychotherapy. The paper examines the interrelationship between an unconscious shared phantasy which had produced deadlock in the marriage and two structural aspects of the therapeutic offer - its brevity and the decision to see the partners separately. The concept of shared phantasy is discussed in the second of these papers which describes in the context of one model for outcome assessment, in what terms the therapy might be said to have been effective. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
|
|
