ABSTRACT
Traditionally, the literature addressing parental psychiatric disorders has reported only, or mainly, on mothers. The perinatal period has been described as the 'golden opportunity moment' for intervention with fathers. By 2009 more than 150 fathers and expectant fathers suffering from depression had received psychotherapeutic intervention at Copenhagen University Hospital. The fathers are referred to the clinic before, during and after childbirth. It is worth noting that, like young mothers, young fathers are likely to be particularly vulnerable to depression in the postnatal period, seemingly due to interacting factors. In the psychotherapeutic treatment of men with post-partum depression, the Danish experience suggests that there are two key issues to address simultaneously. The first, as in all treatments for emotional distress, is to look at improving the depressed father's mood. The second important issue involves the man's relationship with his infant(s) and his perceptions of fatherhood.
