ABSTRACT
The extended psychotherapeutic work necessary with mothers in an extremely vulnerable state arises from their sudden or chronic disorganization of thoughts. "Proper work" is usually taken to mean making conscious the unconscious and helping patients reach an understanding of what is happening in their lives and why it is happening. This chapter presents various kinds of difficulties in mothers who have been schizophrenic, borderline schizophrenic, or borderline paranoid schizophrenic or who suffer from postnatal depression, bipolar disorder, or puerperal psychosis. The importance of naming the different referrals received helps to differentiate the different treatments arranged, rather than classing all patients as "mentally ill mothers". This general label seems to get in the way of their being helped by psychoanalysis, as it suggests that they need inpatient-unit or home help from psychiatric nurses, health visitors, or other professionals, but not from psychoanalytic workers.
