ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the wide range of psychotherapeutic interventions with parents and infants who are experiencing difficulties in their relationships or in themselves. For this purpose the chapter introduces the theme from its clinical and social observation perspectives and then describes the setting-up of a project, the Parent Infant Clinic, followed by the theoretical background. The chapter explores specific psychoanalytic instruments and concludes with a description of the different kinds of intervention, arranged according to various client groups. The aim of the brief mother–infant psychotherapy is to promote an understanding of, and to facilitate, normal communication and the development of emotions and relationships. The work focuses on the mental representations of mother and infant in relation to each other, and the developing internal world of the infant is explored. The brevity is due to the idea that the relationship with its difficulties has itself been short thus far, and problems can therefore be rectified quickly.
