ABSTRACT
Chapter 5, “Therapeutic technique in perinatal consultations”, brings further experiences and suggestions for therapeutic technique in perinatal consultations. The author recommends that the therapist adopt a solid and knowledgeable “internal psychoanalytic frame”, while he simultaneously advocates a flexible external frame. This can imply switching between mother–infant and couple therapy, and in some cases also prescribing SSRI medication. It also implies seeing to the specific patient’s needs; one may need a more supportive approach, whereas another may benefit from brief, yet consistently insight-oriented work. He sets his discussion within a psychoanalytic framework, for example, by discussing the role of transference when a therapist is working with other professionals at a Child Health Centre.
