Beyond the dyad: Parent–infant psychotherapy in a multicultural society—reflections from a South African perspective

Abstract

AbstractAwareness of infant mental health has steadily been growing in South Africa. The University of Cape Town Parent–Infant Mental Health Service serves the under three population in two areas in Cape Town. The challenges that face professionals when working in a traditional community are numerous. Besides the problems that poverty bring, there are the differences in cultures that need to be understood and engaged with. Although South Africa is now in the phase of integrating its cultural diversity, professional training has been based on western models. These models place the emphasis on individual, personal relationships. The African worldview, however, includes a deep awareness of the importance of the collective community. The sense of person‐hood is rooted in this consciousness. For psychotherapy in South Africa to be relevant and appropriate, professionals working in this field have to be aware and genuinely respectful of differences between the various cultural groups. The complexity of two cultures meeting without sufficient awareness of difference is illustrated in the failed psychotherapy of a mother–infant dyad that resulted in attempted infanticide. This highlights the shortcomings of a psychotherapy based on dyadic attachment models only. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.