Blending east and west: mother-infant therapy that is good enough

Chen, HC (Helen)
Singapore

 

Submission type

Poster only

Scheduled

Poster, Beurs van Berlage , Grote Zaal

Kernwoorden

postpartum depression, infant mental health

Onderzoeksgebied

Infant Mental Health

Introductie

Albeit an affluent and educated society, infant mental health services are absent in Singapore. Mothers with bonding difficulties often turn to outsourcing infantcare to readily available help, be it family or live in domestic help. There was an urgent need to address this gap in services, and upskilling of perinatal mental health professionals to address issues in the dyadic relationships. However, interventions and techniques largely learnt from western populations needed to be modified to fit the local community.

Materiaal en methodes

Asian women receiving care for perinatal mental illness with resultant bonding difficulties were provided with mother-infant therapy. Three maternal case studies will be presented, spanning the common diagnoses of postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety and postpartum psychosis. An additional case of paternal-infant relational problem with resultant abuse will be discussed.

Resultaten

A culturally sensitive approach to dynamic psychotherapy, incorporating elements of watch, wait and wonder infant-led psychotherapy provided the foundations for working with these dyads. Brief therapy was good enough to change, quantified by improvement in scores of postpartum bonding questionnaire.

Conclusie

Mother-infant therapy blending traditional psychotherapeutic principles and unique cultural perspectives addressed needs of a diverse population.

Auteurs