What Are Romantic Partners For?
The answer may seem obvious… but is it really?
Me and my ex-therapist are friends. Scandalous, I know.
Who is that person who allows themselves to breach the “normal” therapeutic agreement so heavily? Everyone knows that these two types of relationship should never coexist. Trying to be friends can jeopardize therapy. It’s a potential abuse of power on the therapist’s part.
Except… This set up has worked for us for the past few years. We’ve been weaving the therapy and friendship side of our relationship, sometimes one overtaking the other. We intentionally put the “therapy,” “friends,” and “collaborators” hats on and off, whenever we interacted.
How come this worked? Mostly, because we were clear and explicit about the expectations for each interaction.
But what does this have to do with romantic partnerships?
A few generations back, the purpose of a romantic partnership was clear.
Maybe it wouldn’t even be called “romantic.” Life partnership might have been a better word. Those relationships were often formed for practical reasons than today: to help both partners create some stability in life.
Even for my parents’ generation, this was the case. When I spoke to my mum about how…
