Parent-Infant Clinical Interventions for Professionals
Disturbances in early parent infant emotional interaction and relationships frequently reflect transgenerational themes of attachment related trauma. In this arena, a parent brings to the relationship with their infant unresolved traumatic issues relating to their own early experiences of care and the impact these have had on their current capacity to understand and support the infant. In some cases, parents have had early experiences of fear and maltreatment which contribute to the infant being experienced as anxiety provoking, demanding and at times, threatening .
Transgenerational attachment themes form a crucial part of the assessment of parent -infant psychodynamics as originally argued by Fraiberg. This approach to parent infant intervention focused on supporting the parent in reflecting on their own early experiences and developing ideas about change and their wishes for a different form of relating with their own infant. This is particularly important in helping the traumatised parent work towards an acceptance of their own early trauma and thus reducing the risk of direct reenactments of early negative experiences. For the infant, it is important that parents are supported to develop better understanding of the emotional communication of the infant and improves regulation of their own affective experience.
Programs using these approaches are described to illustrate the importance of a trauma focused model which builds parental emotional regulation and reflective function.
About Dr Louise Newman
Dr Louise Newman is the Director of the Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology at Monash University, Melbourne.
Louise is an Australian Developmental Psychiatrist and has a particular interest in the field of infant psychiatry where she specialises in working with parents with babies up to three years of age. These parents often have psychiatric difficulties themselves and the resulting transgenerational issues and impact of trauma on early development is one of her primary research interests. With research staff at Monash University, she is investigating the impact of interventions for high risk parents. In addition, Newman performs refugee research on school aged children investigating the impact of traumatic experiences both before they arrive in Australia and as refugees. She is a strong advocate for young refugees and works to highlight the damage that can be caused to young people by detention and the refugee experience in Australia.
