Psychoanalysis began with imposition of its hypothetical certitudes on concepts of mental health, including the assumption that the capacity for a “sustained, partnered, love relationship” was a sina qua non for healthy maturity and for a successful analysis. Many such certitudes have “softened” over the years, including the pathologizing of homosexuality. Social and cultural norms still prevail, however, in some areas of analytic theory, including equation of long-term love relationships with mental health. Shame and humiliation over the absence of partnering remains a frequent draw to analytic therapy. Particularly with regard to conflict between partnering and isolated creative endeavors is this problem underscored, as illustrated in the discussion of Laura. Kohut, amongst others, questioned the primacy of object love and partnering as a defining feature of mental health. Some patients may be helped to accept their difficulties with partnered relationships, while others require assistance in distinguishing their personal desire for partnering from social expectations.