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Object Relations Couple Therapy

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Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy

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Name of Concept

Object Relations

Introduction

Object relations couple therapy encompasses a diversity of psychoanalytic concepts derived from the clinical experience with individuals, couples, and families. With its unique approach, the technique developed focuses on the couple’s relationship and not on its individual members. It is based on the premises that earlier and current experiences with important people in life become part of the individual internal world through introjections and identifications. From there on, every important relationship or event will be experienced through the lens of those early ones and thus confusing them with the current ones.

Theoretical Context for Concept

Object relations couple therapy sees the couple as being emotionally affected by (a) the current relationship with the spouse, (b) the past relationship with parents or primal caregivers, (c) the internal emotional and physiological needs of each individual in the couple, (d) the extended family...

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References

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  • Varela, Y. (2006). The spilliting function of the dyad and containment of the couple. In Scharff & Scharff (Eds.) New paradigms for treating relationships. New York: Jason Aronson.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Psychoanalytical Association – International Institute for Psychoanalytic Training, Panama, Republic of Panama

    Yolanda de Varela

  2. International Psychotherapy Institute, Washington, DC, USA

    Yolanda de Varela

Authors
  1. Yolanda de Varela
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yolanda de Varela .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Jay Lebow

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Anthony Chambers

  3. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Douglas C. Breunlin

Section Editor information

  1. California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Molly Gasbarrini Ph.D.

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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de Varela, Y. (2017). Object Relations Couple Therapy. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_34-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_34-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

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