Notes on working with divorcing and separating couples

Psychoanalytic couple psychotherapy has provided a rich body of work in relation to couple functioning. Simultaneously, the application of these principles to the field of separation and divorce has been underdeveloped. This article therefore briefly describes the work of a clinical service developed specifically for separating couples which adheres to the core psychoanalytic principles previously established. In doing so, important emphases emerge in relation to conceptualisation of the projective cycle, the therapist's internal setting, and the external setting and process of the clinical work itself.