Simultaneous Pregnancy in the Therapist and the Patient

Abstract

This report described the insight-oriented psychotherapy while both the therapist and patient were pregnant. The patient's pregnancy was not considered a consequence of acting out. With the growing number of female therapists, this issue will become more commonplace. The issues of dependency and traditionally feminine sex roles were initially found in Lisa's therapy and had been a focus for several months. However, her pregnancy catalyzed working through femininity issues and the therapist's pregnancy served to catalyze both issues. Pregnancy in the therapist is a template for dependency, abandonment, and sexuality issues. If the patient is a woman, role-model and identification issues are even more of a concern. In the patient, pregnancy serves to enhance the therapy because direction is already turned inward and there is even further self-absorption. If both the therapist and patient are pregnant, intense transference and countertransference are likely, and the skillful use of these will further the outcome of the therapy.