Couple Psychoanalysis in the United Kingdom: Past, Present, and Future

ABSTRACT

The evolution of couple psychoanalysis in the United Kingdom is historically rooted in, and currently supported by, what might be called the Tavistock tradition, which principally derives from the work of Tavistock Relationships, a London-based organization combining clinical practice, training, and research. Practitioners working within this tradition draw on a range of psychoanalytic theories and differ in the ways they are applied in clinical practice and with different client groups, but they are united by their focus on relationship dynamics and how these can be affected by unconscious processes. This article charts how the main ideas and practices associated with the Tavistock tradition of couple psychoanalysis came into being, describes the conceptual building blocks that provide the platform for current training and practice, and identifies nodal points that might indicate directions of growth in the future.

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Notes on contributors

Christopher Clulow

Christopher Clulow is a Senior Fellow of the Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology, London, and a Fellow of the Centre for Social Policy, Dartington. He has published extensively about couple relationships and couple psychotherapy from a psychoanalytic perspective. He is registered with the British Psychoanalytic Council and practises as a consultant couple psychotherapist in his home town of St Albans and in London.

Leezah Hertzmann

Leezah Hertzmann is a senior individual and couple psychoanalytic Psychotherapist, until recently working at Tavistock Relationships. Her interests include mentalization and psychoanalysis, and sexual diversity in couple relationships, both areas in which she teaches, lectures, and has published. She is a member of the British Psychoanalytic Council’s Sexual Diversity Advisory Group.

Viveka Nyberg

Viveka Nyberg is a consultant couple psychotherapist and clinical lecturer, and was until recently working at Tavistock Relationships as head of the MA in psychoanalytic couple psychotherapy. She is a senior member of the British Psychotherapy Foundation.