Jealousy in couple relationships: nature, assessment and therapy.

This essay discusses jealousy in the context of couple relationships. Jealousy in couples is a common problem encountered in therapy settings, especially in marital counselling and sex therapy. The literature on the subject is small but growing. There is a need to clarify definitional and phenomenological issues. In this essay, an attempt is made to clarify some of the these, drawing on the literature and on clinical data. A brief exploration of clinical assessment is also undertaken. Finally, a treatment strategy is proposed, and specific treatment techniques that might be considered are briefly commented on.