Intercepting the intergenerational cycle of maternal trauma and loss through mother–infant psychotherapy: A case study using attachment-derived methods.

Some mothers who have recently lost a significant attachment figure may become mentally incoherent and sporadically even enter a trancelike, dissociative state. Such states of mind have been shown to predict infant attachment disorganization. Infants born close to the time of a parental loss are at...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Clinical Child Psychology & Psychiatry Vol. 18; no. 1; pp. 100 - 121
Main Authors:	Belt, Ritva H., Kouvo, Anna, Flykt, Marjo, Punamäki, Raija-Leena, Haltigan, John D., Biringen, Zeynep, Tamminen, Tuula
Format:	case study research Journal Article
Published:	Sage Publications Inc. Jan2013
Online Access:	View this record in EBSCOhost

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Summary:	Some mothers who have recently lost a significant attachment figure may become mentally incoherent and sporadically even enter a trancelike, dissociative state. Such states of mind have been shown to predict infant attachment disorganization. Infants born close to the time of a parental loss are at a greater risk for intergenerational trauma. A background of maternal substance abuse is also known to increase such risk. We illustrate by way of a case study how a mother–infant group psychotherapy programme aimed at substance-abusing mothers may help to prevent the transmission of mother’s unresolved trauma to the infant. Another goal was to discuss how attachment-derived methods (namely, Adult Attachment Interview, Strange Situation Procedure and the Emotional Availability Scales) may aid in understanding the effects of the intervention.