Abstract
Clinical approaches to parents who are traumatized by the birth of a premature or defective infant are described. Psychotherapy with parents in the intensive-care nursery relieves suffering and promotes growth and development of the vulnerable parent-infant relationship in this extraordinary setting. Crisis intervention seeks to re-establish parents' temporarily disrupted psychological equilibrium. Supportive psychotherapy helps parents establish and maintain adaptation at a new level. Insight-oriented psychotherapy brings into awareness past conflicts that are interfering with an optimal parent-infant relationship.
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This work is supported in part by NIMH (MH 16744) and by the Ehrman Fellowship of the National Center for Clinical Infant Programs.
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Zeanah, C.H., Canger, C.I. & Jones, J.D. Clinical approaches to traumatized parents: Psychotherapy in the intensive-care nursery. Child Psych Hum Dev 14, 158–169 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00717323
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00717323