The baby as catalyst for unconscious conflicts of the parents. Contribution to a psychoanalytically oriented parent-infant therapy

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper describes the understanding of parent-infant therapy as a short therapy which tries to understand the unresolved inner conflicts of the parents which are projected into their infant. Infant Observation provides an important form of learning to understand the unconscious inner dynamics and conflicts in a family system and how the child reacts to the parents’ projections. Special attention is paid to the reaction of the baby or the play of a young child in parent- infant psychotherapy sessions which may be considered as a catalyst in revealing aspects the parent-infant relationship (and/or unspoken elements in the parents’ relationship which might distort their perception of their child.) The paper uses a case study illustrating work of the therapist and her use of the countertransference reactions in understanding the situation and enabling change.