It is suggested that for some couples with early relational trauma, disavowal of vulnerability is paramount to psychic survival. However, rigidly projecting vulnerability into the other leaves these couples in a bind that bonds them to one another unconsciously. If they disavow their vulnerability, they will feel chronically disconnected from the other. If they reclaim it, they have to face the profound grief and loss of a childhood that never was. As both members of the couple are in this unconscious bind, it is suggested that they form a shared defence; an internalised destructive couple, akin to Rosenfeld's mafia/gang in the individual. In doing so, they unconsciously cling to a protective, defensive position in relation to one another and, sometimes, to the treatment. An elaborated case example illustrates how such a powerful shared defence can lead to a negative therapeutic reaction halting the progress of the treatment.