ABSTRACT
The presence of fathers in infant-parent psychotherapy has become a topic of interest in recent years: he can be present physically or virtually, in the mother's mind, and this creates the much-needed triangular space where the infant can develop. This chapter presents a detailed and updated literature review on the topic of fathers followed by clinical vignettes showing both the importance and value of the paternal, physical presence for the psychic survival of the mother-baby dyad and the devastating effect of the absent and/or rejecting father. Brazelton and Cramer in their book The Earliest Relationship, describe the attachment process to the baby in fathers-to-be, and this is just as it is for the mother influenced by the father's childhood experiences. The authors affirm that the baby has different attachments to the father and the mother. Donna’s was planning to do a brief training which will allow her to patrol schools, streets and public places.
