ABSTRACT
This story is, to an extent, about a well-known phenomenon in clinical work, repetition compulsion, which Freud identified from early on. When a patient acknowledges from the beginning of therapy that they are caught up in repeating the same pattern, the hope is that the repetition will cease, while at the same time, what is also at play is setting up an expectation for both parties of the therapeutic dyad that the pattern will be repeated during the therapy process one way or another. Another theme here is around trust and betrayal. A question is being raised about whether the therapeutic relationship is based on the hope that both parties will do their best not to hurt one another.
