Dana and mally, romantic partners, really enjoy spending time together, and miss each other when they are not together. however, dana really likes spending time alone doing her art and mally misses reading her novels now that she and dana are a couple and she has less time by herself. they enjoy their couple time but they also like being alone. dana and mally are struggling with which relational dialectic?

They have struggle with connection or autonomy. Autonomy and connectedness discusses about the longing to have bonds and connections with others against the need to detached oneself as a sole individual. In this instance the two are a couple but they also want to do some things to highlight their individual talents.

Dana and Mally are struggling with the internal relational dialect called connection - autonomy. They both want to spend time together but they also require their alone time and it is difficult to find a balance that they are both comfortable with. As a couple, they want to feel connected with each other by spending time together, but they also want a sense of individuality and autonomy where they can do their own thing and pursue interests unique to them.