{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,18]],"date-time":"2026-10-18T02:22:40Z","timestamp":1792290160841,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,15]],"date-time":"2020-04-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1586908800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Family Process"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>This paper introduces the concept of \u201cdissociative collusion\u201d as a helpful theoretical and clinical tool for understanding and working with clients with histories of trauma in couple therapy. The paper describes ways to diagnose and treat dissociative collusion based on the integration of an object relations approach, a relational approach, and a narrative approach. Dissociative collusion, a unique version of the well\u2010documented \u201ccouple collusion,\u201d describes relational unconscious dynamics where split\u2010off aspects of one or both partners are mutually dissociated in a complementary fashion that becomes a part of the shared unconscious and is reenacted in destructive ways. The dissociative collusion concept is especially relevant to couple therapists who work with clients with histories of trauma, who frequently use dissociation as a primary defense mechanism. We suggest that the challenge and goal for couple therapy with this population are to help them reconnect and better oscillate between dissociated self\u2010other configurations. A case of couple therapy of a wife who had been a victim of childhood sexual abuse and her husband who displayed frequent use of dissociative defenses is presented.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/famp.12535","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,15]],"date-time":"2020-04-15T23:02:55Z","timestamp":1586991775000},"page":"32-41","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Dissociative Collusion: Reconnecting Clients with Histories of Trauma in Couple Therapy"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"60","author":[{"given":"Irit I.","family":"Kleiner\u2010Paz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Bar Ilan University Tel\u2010Aviv Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ron","family":"Nasim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bar Ilan University Tel\u2010Aviv Israel"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,4,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_10_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1516\/15EL-284Y-7Y26-DHRK"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/j.2167-4086.2004.tb00151.x"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_4_1","first-page":"308","article-title":"Attacks on linking","volume":"40","author":"Bion W.","year":"1959","journal-title":"International Journal Psychoanalysis"},{"key":"e_1_2_10_5_1","volume-title":"Standing in the spaces: Essays on clinical process, trauma, and dissociation","author":"Bromberg P. 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