ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the nature and processes involved in the kinds of identifications formed by couples through projective and introjective mechanisms. It aims to discuss projective identification, introjective identification, intrusive identification, and adhesive identification—all different ways of trying to think about the unconscious impact that partners in a couple relationship have on each other. Couple relationships work well when the projections are benign and meet an appreciative response. The basic idea of projection comes from S. Freud's work on a "Case of Paranoia" in which he tried to make some sense of a particular type of relationship between the inner and outer worlds. Emotional maturity in a couple relationship is not about avoiding pain and loss it is about being able to face painful experiences without resorting to projecting blame and guilt onto the partner. Each partner in a couple relationship tends to have islands of maturity, and each of them can use the other's maturity.
