I. INTRODUCTION: CONFLICT AND POWER Symptoms in couple and family therapy are often most dramatically evident in conflicts among the members. Conflicts typically lead to power plays in which the members try to overcome the others rather than negotiating the differences to achieve a cooperative and constructive agreement. If the pattern persists, it is clear that neither is strong enough to win the conflict and the opposing sides are evenly balanced. If there were a winner, the conflict would end. However, as an example, the attacker is frustrated by the passiveaggressive one who withholds. Neither gets what he wants. Why, then, do they persist?