ABSTRACT
Christine and Rick presented for treatment at a point of considerable distress. Rick was unemployed, Christine had contemplated divorce, and both were uncertain about their future. Although they demonstrated a willingness to change, they continued to enact the pattern that had led them to several trial separations. That is, Rick's concerns about his unemployment often led him to withdraw. Christine dealt with much of her concern about Rick's availability by focusing on specifics about where he might find a job, and whether she could manage the dislocation involved in moving to a new community. Rick responded to these concerns defensively, with resentment and a sense that his loss of employment had made Christine unhappy. Her unhappiness about moving suggested to him that the house was more important to her than her relationship with him. Thus, Rick and Christine were locked into a pursue/withdraw cycle. She tended to pursue him with ineffective strategies such as criticism and complaints, and he interpreted her depressed, accusatory manner as indicating her unhappiness with their marriage. Feeling ineffective in his attempts to reassure Christine, Rick withdrew further, which only added to Christine's fears about his availability. Christine and Rick's problems are typical of many distressed marriages that are marked by escalating negative exchanges, demand/withdraw interactions, and mutual fears about partners' availability.
