ABSTRACT
A couple who has worked well with the therapist and progressed considerably may be so relieved to feel better that they bound away from treatment before they get worse again. In the assessment process prior to beginning analytic couple therapy, the spouses or partners outline what they expect and what they hope to achieve in therapy. The couple in the late phase of treatment enters a pre-termination phase, introduced perhaps by a dream, by a successful response to a holiday break, by a new-found capacity for work, by the welcome conception of a child. The treatment must be in the service of the couple's life outside the consulting room. The couple in the late phase of treatment enters a pre-termination phase, introduced perhaps by a dream, by a successful response to a holiday break, by a new-found capacity for work, by the welcome conception of a child.
