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This paper addresses questions such as: can couples troubled by violence in their relationship make use of couple therapy? Are particular types of violence amenable to such work, and others that are not? If we do work with violent couples, how can they be helped to understand what is going on between them, so as to stop being violent, and to keep them safe? Drawing on two case examples, we seek to demonstrate the benefits of couple psychoanalytic psychotherapy in promoting couples' understanding of the roots of their behaviour patterns as well as their impact on one another. This understanding can lead to reductions in mutual tension and hostility, and a consequent discontinuance of violence.

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