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Infant psychiatry clinic grand rounds. Unresolved grief: A two‐year‐old brings her mother for treatment
Author(s) -
Harmon Robert J.,
Stall Peggy J.,
Emde Robert N.,
Siegel Clifford,
Kempe Ruth S.,
Margolin Margaret Hitchman,
McGehee Rex,
Frederick Susan R.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0355(199022)11:2<97::aid-imhj2280110203>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - referral , grief , psychology , autonomy , child and adolescent psychiatry , psychiatry , outpatient clinic , medicine , family medicine , political science , law
Rebecca was a 2 1 / 2 ‐year‐old Caucasian female who was brought to the Infant Psychiatry Clinic by her 28‐year‐old widowed mother. Her mother's chief concern was around parenting issues as well as how to explain to Rebecca the death of her father. This loss occurred when Rebecca was 6 months old and was a source of great pain and unresolved grief to her mother. Central to this case was the chaotic history of Rebecca's mother, who was a victim of incest from the time she was 13 until she was 23 years old. Both of her parents struggled with chronic alcoholism during much of her childhood. It appeared that a factor precipitating the mother's request for help was her struggle to move out of her own mother's home. This outpatient Infant Clinic case involved two primary goals: (1) the assessment of the parent‐child relationship and (2) the development of confidence in this “good enough” mother. Vitally important to the process of treatment was the mother's modulation of timing and frequency of sessions. The issue of pacing was carefully monitored as this mother could have been overwhelmed by delving precipitously into her incestuous history. The use of a structured videotape interview to address mother‐child interaction and parenting issues was particularly helpful. Referral to an AlAnon group provided the mother with social support as she separated herself from her alcoholic mother and moved toward autonomy in her own parenting role.