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There are twelve patterns of marital disturbance.
1.) This is an extremely unequal relationship in which one spouse's incompetence is required and encouraged by the other. One spouse will act as if they are the "parent" , usually the husband, and the other one is the  "child."  Conversations between the two of them include the "child" asking the " parent" for permission to do things.
The spouse who plays the role of the "parent" many times controls their spouse by verbal and emotional abuse and putdowns. These can involve "talkin down to, instead of talking TO someone" or giving the "child" in the marriage the "silent treatment."
2.) Any kind of the following is likely to disrupt the marriage:

   a.  Arrival of children.

    b.  Financial pressures.

    c. A well-intentioned helper upon whom
            the "doll" becomes dependent.
The " Love Sick" wife, and the " Cold Sick" husband

1.)  In this relationship, the wife tends to be
      hysterical, and the husband obsessional.

2.  This is the most commonly seen of marital disturbance
3.) The wife experiences severe anxiety, depression,
    or an incapacitating physical illness.  She blames
    her husband for being "cold", giving her the "silent             treatment" while at the same time,  claiming to have
    deep capacity for love.  

4.) The husband is an intelligent, educated person who
    holds a position of authority. They tend to be rigid
    and have difficulty being intimate.
5.) The marriage pattern reveals stagnation in the             wife, and growth in the husband.

6.) She is a "talker" and he is a "worker."
"The Doll's House Marriage"
The  " In Search of a Mother "  Marriage

1.) In this relationship, the husband tends to be                   hysterical and the wife is obsessional.

2.) The husband is planning to have an affair and              plans to marry the woman. External circumstances      have  blocked his plans.
3.) He wants a therapist to tell him how he can save his                 lover without making his wife vindictive.  Most of  these          types of  men are passive-dependent, and their wives are         dominant.

4.) Their wives are excellent mothers.  They seldom                        divorce.

5.) The husband marries young, often before he  has
    finished his education and is able to earn a living.
   The husband is usually very attached to his mother.
             The " Double-Parasite" Marriage

1. Both the husband and the wife are hysterical.

2.  Both expect the other to make the marriage work.

3.) This is like some people who cannot swim.They                     desperately cling to each other and they drown together.

4.) The trouble may start early in the marriage.

5.) They look like the "ideal" couple.
                   The " Paranoid Marriage "

1.)  This type of couple has an urgent need for separation                       and individuation. This type of marriage is rare.

2.)  Their paranoid involvement will range from " folie a                       deux" to " conjugal paranoia." 

3.)  Two people are involved in the same " folly ."

4.) The couple suffering from " folie a deux " get along                           reasonably  well with each other by sharing the same                     delusional system, but come into conflict with reality.
(a) One mate is usually very dominant in the relationship.         

(b) The weaker mate has to choose between marriage and insanity.
5.) In the " paranoid " marriage, the affected partner creates      conflict for the family.

   (a)  When the husband is sick, he often gets in trouble                     with management.

   (b)  When the wife is the sick partner, she gets in trouble                with neighbors and people at church.
6.) Couples involved in a " paranoid " marriage are often                    incapable of " peer " relationships.  They come into conflict            with whoever is in authority over them.
7.)  " Conjugal Paranoia " describes a condition in which                    one partner is threatened by conjugal relations and feels              very inadequate.

   a) The sick partner degrades and humiliates their                              partner.

   (b) At first the paranoid partner is just considered to be
        mean and angry.

  (c) The unaffected partner often responds by being                              depressed.
                The " Half-Marriage "
                     
1.) Although the dynamics are reversible, usually the              wife is aggressive and the husband is passive.

2.) These mates are externally different, but internally            similar.

3.) Both mates are ambivalent about their dependency.
(a.)  The wife tries to mask her dependence by:

(b)   A pseudo independence, involving herself in                    community affairs to give the impression she                 doesn't need her husband.

(c)   An anger which , she explains, results from being         married to a  weak husband.

(d)  The husband covers his dependence by appearing         reserved and somewhat withdrawn.
         The  "Attaching-Detaching" Marriage.


1.) On the surface the couple seem to function well in all
    aspects of their marriage relationship.

2.) The wife wants intimacy which the husband sees
    as over-demanding.

3)  The husband fears that if he ever starts to please his             wife it will consume so much of him he won't have                 anything left or himself.
(a)  The husband is like the great sphinx, with the                       wife, the exotic dancer.

(b) The wife turns up the thermostat to 80 degrees,                   because she is too cold.  When she is not looking he              sneaks to the thermostat and turns it down to fifty             degrees.
           The " Sadomasochistic " Marriage

1.) The husband is a "controller " and can give the "silent         treatment" and be openly angry or even hostile.  The           wife behaves very passively.

2.) The husband can become increasingly sadistic in his
    belittling attacks upon his wife.
3.) The husband often attempts to supervise the wife's               housework. She responds by being a very disheveled           and disorganized person.

4.) The husband is often rough in sexual relationships and       the  wife becomes non-responsive.

5.) The wife, due to her husband's anger and controlling            ways  has very low self-esteem, and begins to loose             respect and feelings for the husband.
              The "Child Marriage"

1.)  Both mates are essentially children.

2.)  They are both prone to temper tantrums
     or violence if they don't get their own way.

3.) They have little to give to the marriage, but              expect to receive whatever they want from it.
4.)  They both are lonely and desire
      affection from the other.

5.)  Each experiences sickness in the other as an             inconvenience, but both want to be taken care         of  when they are sick.

6.)  They are still tied to their parents and
     rarely separated from them.

7.)  They remain very active with friends,
     but spend little time together.

8.)  When they disagree, they fight destructively.
   Not all couples are the same:
A. In some ways, every couple you see is like all other couples.

B. In other ways, every couple you see are like some  other  couples.

C. In still other ways, every couple you see are like no other couple.
            The " Neurotic Marriage "

1.)  One mate is the caretaker; the other
     is the patient.

2.) Through the years, both mates become
    angry over the pain and disappointment
    of their relationship.

3.) The pattern is chronic.
           The " Therapeutic Marriage."

1.) Both mates behave as though they were
    the doctor and their mate the patient.

2.) When they were going together, each of them
    was usually experiencing some difficulty in                life.

3.)  At that time, each became the other's doctor,
     and they have continued.
         The " Pseudomarriage."

1.) This couple is in a relationship which
    is really not a marriage.

2.) There is no bonding, and a total lack
    of intimacy.

3.) Often the marriage resulted from a                 pregnancy or, both partners are heavily        invested in careers.
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