ABSTRACT
Chapter 18, “Babies and their defences”, and 19, “Metaphors in parent–infant therapy”, contain discussions of theoretical questions that were stimulated by mother–baby therapies. Chapter 18 investigates if babies can erect psychological defences. The clinical basis of this investigation is infant gaze avoidance. The author argues that it is quite a common phenomenon in parent–infant practice. The theoretical discussion continues a track laid out by Selma Fraiberg, the renowned parent–infant therapist. He argues that the baby’s avoidance of mother’s eyes can be understood as an effort at avoiding a perception of a maternal Gestalt whom the baby feels is terrifying. Thus, there are similarities, and differences, with phobic mechanisms as seen in older children and adults. In the end, the author argues that babies can indeed erect psychological defences, whereas to attribute them defence mechanisms is going too far.
