ABSTRACT
At a recent psychotherapy conference, a case was presented of a father in treatment many years after leaving his first marriage. Although he had dutifully paid monthly child support, over time he had lost contact with his son, who had been an infant during the separation. Burdened at first by much self-blame, this father was later able to work through his guilt and happily remarry. But now, many years later, he was again encountering marital difficulties emerging after his second wife became pregnant. Taking his client’s lead, the therapist focused on problems in the two marital relationships-how perhaps this man had not felt sufficiently connected to his first wife, and how that dynamic might now be replaying. The client, who was considering leaving his second wife, felt much relief of his guilt.
