ABSTRACT
This chapter will discuss the Intersystem Model with an emphasis on object relations theory as it is applied to Harry and Rose Goodwill, a couple in marital therapy. The Intersystem Model provides a framework for viewing a couple in three dimensions: the individual, the interpersonal, and the intergenerational. Object relations theory primarily emphasizes interpersonal process, specifi-cally focusing on how partners merge boundaries and differentiate as part of the marital dialogue. The process of incorporating aspects of the significant other, internalizing those aspects, and making them part of one's self is a process beginning in early development, setting the pattern for attachment, separation, and individuation for the rest of one's life. The tale of Beauty and the Beast (Mayer, 1978) serves as a superb metaphor for how two very different people struggle to understand each other's world and are permanently altered by that discovery.
