THE FIRST INTERVIEW IN COUPLE THERAPY

Abstract

In this paper, the author discusses questions concerning the frame of a first interview with a couple looking for therapeutic support. The external and internal frame is described in which the unconscious dynamic of the couple will unfold, taking account of the aspects of transference and counter-transference, which show up soon in the beginning. Furthermore, the role of object relations and their impact concerning couple therapy is described. In a case vignette of a first contact with a couple, these theoretical considerations are liked with clinical material emphasizing the perception of feelings of the therapist and his attempt to verbalize them appropriately. This paper was first published in German in 2008 in the scientific German journal "Psychoanalytische Familientherapie" ("Psychoanalytic Family Therapy", Issue 17, Volume 2) and was kindly provided by the author for translation into Ukrainian and further publication in the "Ukrainian Psychoanalytic Journal". The editorial board of the "Ukrainian Psychoanalytic Journal" expresses deep gratitude to the author of the paper - Doctor Klaus Kocher, as well as to the translator, psychoanalytic couple therapist, and member of the "Psychoanalytic Psychology and Psychotherapy" Division of the National Psychological Association – Mariia Ievgrashyna (Berlin, Germany). Doctor Klaus Kocher has a M.D., is a specialist in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, certified by the German Psychoanalytic Association, which is affiliated with the International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA), and is also a member of the Federal Association for Psychoanalytic Couple and Family Therapy (BvPPF). In addition, Dr. Kocher is the co-founder of the Institute for Couples Therapy (IfP) located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.