Symptom bearer as marital distance regulator: clinical implications.
Certain families experience conflict in regulating their interpersonal distance because they are afraid of separation and intimacy. A couple that lives in the shadow of this double-ended catastrophe may triangle in a "go-between" to bring them together if they get too far apart, or separate them when they are too close. Ambivalence about the couple's relationship predisposes a family member, often an in-law or child, to be recruited to this role. The "go-between" ambivalence then becomes the couple's homeostat, and symptoms are likely to appear in this individual. Implications for family therapy are illustrated through a full-length case study.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001010:Anxiety, Separation / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008388:Marital Therapy; D008393:Marriage; D009769:Object Attachment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D012929:Psychological Distance; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy