ABSTRACT
The concept of projective identification is a psychoanalytic gift to those trying to understand the unconscious dynamics of a couple relationship. It is a clinically and theoretically rich concept that has been elaborated extensively since it was first articulated by Klein in 1946 (Klein, 1975e). We now understand projective identification as an intrapsychic and an interpersonal process, as a defence, and a mode of communication and way of relating. In couples and other relationships, projective identification can also be part of creating a narcissistic relationship in phantasy and in the way a couple function together, such as that seen in a “projective gridlock” (Morgan, 1995).
