

Today we meet Jake and Amy. Jake is restless and agitated because he has arrived for the appointment with Paul and Amy has not. He paces, makes calls trying to find her. Jake does not want to stay and begin without Amy. Amy finally arrives.
This is their third session and Paul observes that Amy has been late each time. Jake interrogates Amy about where she was, clearly suspecting that she is keeping a secret from him. And then it emerges — they are there trying to decide whether or not to have an abortion and he suspects she has finalized the plans. So among other things, this couple is struggling over whether or not to have another child, Amy’s fears that she cannot do it, and Jake’s desire to proceed. But they are each enacting the other’s ambivalence.
Now, I rarely work with couples; I find it less satisfying than working with individuals. To me, with couples it feels like there are too many people in the room — the couple and all of the shadow couples in their lives that they bring with them. And I simply do not feel as well equipped to deal with them as I do with individuals. So, I confess I had less investment in this episode and found it less engaging.
At the end of the session, when Jake and Amy leave after provoking Paul, he makes a call — to his own therapist. Which is where we go tomorrow.
Tomorrow I pull together thoughts about what we have seen so far.
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