Description
This innovative book explains and introduces the use of mindfulness in therapeutic work with parents and babies, covering issues such as feeding, crying, sleeping and relating, as well as other developmental challenges which affect family life, as practiced in both clinical sessions and in the home.
The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 introduces: (1) what parent-infant psychotherapy is, its origin and evolution; (2) mindfulness, which consists in paying attention in a purposeful way in the present moment and not judgementally; and (3) the development and maturation of the brain and nervous system and how they are affected by the environment in utero and after birth. Part 2 then goes on to explore a range of topics such as parental mental illnesses, immigration, dislocation, loss, guilt, substance misuse, abuse, post-natal depression, congenital malformations and the role of fathers. It describes how these factors impact the parental relationship with, and the healthy development of the infant, drawing from relevant research to demonstrate the effectiveness of parent-infant psychotherapy and mindfulness.
The practice of psychoanalytic psychotherapy aided by mindfulness is a useful intervention for distressed families with infants, while a mindful approach to oneself and one’s baby can ease parental anxiety and free-loving capacities. Neurodevelopmental Parent-Infant Psychotherapy and Mindfulness is an essential resource for clinicians and researchers working on parent and infant relations and will also appeal to curious new or future parents.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Ajahn Brahmavara
Foreword by Stella Acquarone
Introduction
Chapter 1 What is parent-Infant psychotherapy?
Chapter 2 What is Mindfulness?
Chapter 3 The development of the infant’s brain and nervous system
Chapter 4 Pregnancy
Chapter 5 From unbearable, persecutory guilt to tolerable, reparative guilt in working with severely damaged babies and their parents
Chapter 6 Immigration, Dislocation and Loss
Chapter 7 Parental Mental Illness
Chapter 8 Babies with severe congenital disabilities
Chapter 9 Fathers
Chapter 10 Breaking the cycle
