Anyone who has done couple therapy is familiar with the patterns of behavior that partners demonstrate with each other from the moment we meet them. Some of these patterns can be pleasurable and functional, but those are not the ones that lead couples to seek treatment. We identify them as patterns because they are repeated with amazing similarity across conflict content. They contain the painful material that has brought the couple to treatment, as both partners compulsively and consistently perform the complementary roles that are necessary to maintain the patterns. Neurodynamic Couples Therapy names these patterns recycling dramas.