Projective identification: a resistance in couples

From an object relational perspective, couples are being viewed more and more as complex systems in which projective identificatory interactions are prevalently observable. The resistive aspect of the collusive arrangements established in couples becomes even more evident as the concept of projective identification is applied to understanding such relationships. By repeatedly confronting and exploring the unconscious role assignments and proxy evocations underlying couple resistances, the partners are encouraged to reclaim dissociated parts of themselves placed into the mate and to maturationally advance from the paranoid to the depressive position.