J.P. Tarcher, Inc. 1980. In The Psychology of Romantic Love , Nathaniel Branden, a psychotherapist and marriage counselor, discusses the various aspects of romantic love. The book begins with an introduction which provides his definition for romantic love.
Romantic love is often misunderstood, and therefore discounted.
A relationship must be passionate or intense to be considered a successful romantic love relationship. In contrast, a relationship that involves control, manipulation, domination, aggression or dependence is considered an immature relationship. Therefore, the individual finds lovers to cast in the role of the failed mother or father in an attempt to reconcile that failed aspect of childhood. This type of relationship can rarely survive. He describes various attitudes towards the idea of romantic love in various historical settings.