The Pregnant Clinical Psychologist:

Abstract

What is the impact of the psychologist's pregnancy on her clinical work? How does her pregnancy affect the therapy process? Answers to these questions will be governed by one's conceptions of pregnancy and/or the pregnant woman and by one's model of psychotherapy. Common images of pregnant women are presented. The scant literature on the therapist's pregnancy has been written from a psychoanalytic perspective. It suggests that the pregnancy precipitates a series of potential crises for the client and the transference relationship. In this paper, the issues arising from the psychologist's pregnancy are reformulated from an existential-humanistic perspective. The author's experiences in clinical practice are described and examined. The benign effect of the author's pregnancy on her clinical work is contrasted with the adverse impact described in the literature and with the striking impact of her pregnancy in the university setting. Here, pregnancy presents a unique opportunity to the psychologist to serve as a role model and thereby to challenge constricting myths and stereotypes. The pregnancy is thus seen as a time of potential intellectual and emotional growth and integration for the psychologist, her clients and students.