Psychotic and depressive processes in couple functioning

Much has been written regarding the differences between the psychological
universes of the paranoid- schizoid and depressive positions for the
individual. In this chapter, I wish to explore how these differences affect
couple relationships, especially when their shared paranoid- schizoid
frame of mind is extreme, bordering on psychotic functioning. I wish to
give especial attention to how these differences express themselves in the
regions of couples’ ideals, and the results of the betrayal of those ideals;
also, I wish to emphasise how couples’ different experiences of the
passage of time fundamentally affect their psychological functioning.