Seeing, Knowing, and Finding Time: Attachment, Trauma, and Resilience in the Perinatal Period (And During a Pandemic)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Paying tribute to Anni Bergman requires a clinician to find the way to difficult clinical experiences that challenge one’s identity and demand creativity and humility. Anni was a keen observer of nuance, difference, and connection, especially in the nonverbal. She also sought to integrate evolving knowledge of developmental psychology and clinical practice into her work, through formal measures or technique. In the present day, Anni’s influence embodies a curious, active, integrative stance that helps patients find themselves and helps clinicians stay close to the work through their own learning. This paper explores a case though multiple lenses that include Attachment Theory, psychoanalytic ideas on maternal identity, trauma and resilience, where treatment was sought during the perinatal period. Integrating formal self-report and research measures, specifically the Adult Attachment Interview, into a clinical context helps both therapist and patient define the work and find each other.