ABSTRACT
The tension between the needs of client and pregnant therapist is very apparent in the question of ‘when to tell’. D. H. Browning considers the issue of disclosure from the point of view of a child therapist. She acknowledges that it can be hard to know where to draw the line, but she proposes that since the baby, unlike other aspects of the therapist’s personal life, has in a sense been part of the treatment, the patient deserves to know more on this. When a supervisor and therapist are at different life stages, perhaps when one or other is pregnant or retiring, then either envy or fear of envy may arise. R. R. Imber’s intervention was important in helping to separate out the therapist’s own self-blame from the patient’s projection of guilt. Therapists and supervisors are familiar with less radical measures which can help protect against burnout.
