Problems in a 'creative marriage' following the birth of the first child -- an account of a conjoint marital therapy.

This description of the marital therapy of a couple treated conjointly by the authors illustrates the profound effects of the couple's childhood experiences of their respective parents' relationships on their own subsequent marriage. The precipitating effect of the birth of the child in the marriage in awakening dormant unconscious conflicts stemming from these early experiences also emerges in the history of the couple and in the material of the therapeutic sessions.