Introduction
Directed by Danny DeVito, The War of the Roses is a masterpiece 1989 movie dealing with family conflict. The protagonists in the film are Oliver Rose and his wife, Barbara. As the movie opens, Oliver is studying law at the prestigious Harvard Law School. He meets Barbara, fall in love at the first sight, and sleep together on the same day. They finally marry; unfortunately, the marriage starts falling apart and divorce seems as the only way out of the conflict. They ultimately both die as they attempt to kill each other as the movie ends.
Degree of separation-individuation
The degree of separation-individuation in this case is taken to mean “the process by which a person becomes increasingly differentiated from a past or present relational context” (Meeus, Iedema, Maassen, & Engels, 2005, p. 90). In this case, the protagonists’ degree of separation-individuation is low. While Olive cannot understand why his wife hates him passionately, he does not separate himself from the fact that he is controlling, selfish, and indifferent towards her.
On the other side, Barbara lets the differences define her actions even after Olive repeatedly confesses of his love towards her. Even in death, Barbara rejects Olive’s love by shaking away his outstretched arm (Maslin, 1989). Such traits, according to Mattanah, Hancock, and Brand (2004), indicate a low degree of separation-individuation.
Healthy attachments
At the beginning of the movie, the young couple is in blissful healthy attachment in the name of love. However, as the reality of marriage sets in, cracks emerge thus severing the hitherto cherished attachments between Oliver and his wife, Barbara.
Introjections of pathological objects
Oliver portrays some elements of sickness throughout the movie and especially after differences start to emerge in the marriage. Instead of reasoning with his lawyer, Olive fires him and deals with matters his own way. Barbara, on the other side, is sick, perhaps from severe depression. She attempts severally to kill her husband and the two insult each other at any opportunity even before friends and clients.
Self-object needs for idealizing and mirroring
The protagonists here need to idealize and mirror some personal self-objects. Firstly, they need to ask why they married each other. Olive needs to reflect on his indifference towards his wife. He needs to determine whether his business is more important than his family as he seems too preoccupied with his work to notice the trouble brewing in his family. Similarly, Barbara has become an emotional wreck. She cannot withstand her husband as evidenced by the many attempts she tries to kill him. She needs to idealize and reflect on why she got married in the first place. She needs to think critically on her role in the marriage and the breakage of the same.
Family therapy treatment goals
Unquestionably, this family is in conflict, which is fuelled by anger, and poor communication.
The following would be the treatment goals
- On conflict: Appreciate, learn, and employ resolution skills
- On anger: Learn, increase, and exercise the capability to handle anger
- On poor communication: learn and employ proven effective communication skills
A successful treatment would look as outlined in the chart below
Successful treatment expectations for the couple
At the end of the therapy, the couple should expect to end their conflict, subdue anger, and communicate effectively.
References
Maslin, J. (1989, December 8). The War of the Roses. The New York Times, p.48.
Mattanah, J., Hancock, G., & Brand, B. (2004). Parental attachment, separation-individuation, and college students. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51(2), 213-225.
Meeus, W., Iedema, J., Maassen, G., & Engels, R. (2005). Separation–individuation revisited: on the interplay of parent–adolescent relations, identity and emotional adjustment. Journal of Adolescence, 28, 89–106.