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In a study on obsessive love and attachment disorders, subjects described experiences of acute rejection, powerlessness, and inner emptiness. The experiences of obsessions with an unavailable or rejecting partner persisted for months or years, and were often accompanied by violent impulses and/or suicidal fantasies. Subjects demonstrated depressive/addictive traits, strong narcissistic features, and schizoid defenses. This author suggests that tenacious love-obsessions signify an internalized, preoedipal attachment disturbance—a morbid attachment to the “missing” object of infancy. These patients typically have difficulty forming an attachment bond with the analyst, perceiving the analyst as a dangerous, rejecting agent who will recapitulate the original trauma. Using the clinical example of “Gretchen's Obsession,” the author employs modern analytic techniques of “joining” and “mirroring” (Spotnitz, 1976), as well as Winnicott's (1960b) concept of “holding” to create a progressive therapeutic bond, as toxic resistant forces are gradually resolved.