Il patto collusivo e il drop out di coppia: un caso clinico

Abstract

This case report encompasses many aspects of systemic therapy concerning  a difficult couple setting, pointing out the “collusive pattern” between the spouses and the complex issue of the therapy  "drop-out". The case concerns a consulting process, consisting of five sessions conducted with a couple, whose evaluation has allowed to understand the dynamics related to their specific relational pattern. The symptom "explosion”, an angry and violent behaviour of the husband, forcing the couple in therapy, represents a first attempt to break the collusion. This symptom is, therefore, the main agent of the couple disorder. The therapeutic work will reformulate the problem, including the wife as a key player of these behaviours. In the first interviews it clearly emerges the fusional relationship that has always characterized the couple. The crisis seems to arise when some events change the collusive bond between spouses: the dedication of the wife to her sick mother, the moving away of grown-up children from the family system, and the husband's retirement. The critical value of these events consists in the fact that the usual relational styles results inadequate,and activate a reorganization processes and modifications to structural and relational level. The failure of these transformative processes created the symptomatic behaviour: the uncontrolled anger of man. The description of this case stems from the opportunity to carry out a reflection on a recurring problem often in therapy: the drop-out. In fact,  the process has suddenly stopped  when it was required the participation of the child as a resource for the couple. This choice has confirmed the difficulty of the spouses to move towards a change and to abandon their  collusive balance  always present.