Ghosts in the nursery: a psychoanalytic approach to the problems of impaired infant–mother relationships 1

Fraiberg, Selma; Adelson, Edna; Shapiro, Vivian

doi:10.4324/9780429478154-10

Cited by 160 publications

(222 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

188

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Understanding these two coexisting realities is informed by the work of Winnicott () and Fraiberg (), who placed the fantasies and maternal memories at the core of the therapeutic relationship in an attempt to understand trauma in the early parent–child relationship. Fraiberg, Adelson, and Shapiro () introduced the metaphor of “ghosts in the nursery” to suggest that remnants of a mother's past attachment relationships, “visitors from the unremembered past of the parents” infiltrate the present parent–child relationship and derail the emotional well‐being of the dyad (p. 387). According to Stern (), internal representations are built up over time through our interactive experiences and can be lived or imagined.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Strengthening the Reflective Functioning Capacities of Parents Who Have a Child With a Neurodevelopmental Disability Through a Brief, Relationship-Focused Intervention

Sealy

Glovinsky

2016

Infant Ment. Health J.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This randomized controlled trial examined the reflective functioning capacities of caregivers who have a child with a neurodevelopmental disorder between the ages of 2 years, 0 months and 6 years, 11 months. Children with a neurodevelopmental disorder receive a range of diagnoses, including Autism, however they all exhibit social communication challenges that can derail social relationships. Forty parent-child dyads in Barbados were randomly assigned to either a Developmental Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based/Floortime (DIR/FT) group (n=20), or a psycho-educational (wait-list) group (n=20) with parental reflective functioning measured before and after a 12-week DIRFloortime® treatment intervention. Results revealed significant gains in parental reflective functioning in the treatment group as compared to the psychoeducational (wait-list) group after the 12 week relationship-focused intervention.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Strengthening the Reflective Functioning Capacities of Parents Who Have a Child With a Neurodevelopmental Disability Through a Brief, Relationship-Focused Intervention

Sealy

Glovinsky

2016

Infant Ment. Health J.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In the absence of a reproductive justice framework, infant mental health professionals are at risk of perpetuating reproductive oppression by seeing women only as mothers rather than as whole people. Selma Fraiberg, Adelson, and Shapiro's () seminal paper “Ghosts in the Nursery” includes a case report of a young mother, Annie, who struggles mightily as a parent due in large measure to trauma and oppression that she has endured. At the end of the case report describing the fruitful, but arduous, work of infant–parent psychotherapy with Annie and her son Greg, it is revealed that Annie is expecting a second child, and the prospects for Annie and the family are painted optimistically, with confidence that the new baby will be “protected by the magic circle of the family” (p. 419).…”

Section: The Core Tenets Of Reproductive Justice: Implications For Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconceiving the field: Infant mental health, intersectionality, and reproductive justice

John

2019

Infant Mental Health Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The field of infant mental health is conventionally comprised of professional discourses including developmental science, psychology, and psychiatry, among others, and involves spheres of practice as wide‐ranging as pediatrics, maternal/child health, early intervention, early care and education, and child welfare. The World Association of Infant Mental Health [WAIMH] put out its position paper on the rights of infants in 2014 (amended in March 2016) in recognition of the human rights implications of professional understanding of infants’ unique, yet universal, developmental capacities and needs. This article links the policy issues outlined in the WAIMH position paper with critical issues in the field of reproductive justice, extending the reach of WAIMH's call to action on behalf of infants’ rights, and pointing the way toward potent alliances among interconnected movements. Connecting the dots among economic injustice, race‐based health disparities, and gender inequities, the article demonstrates that it is not possible to safeguard infant mental health unless we make reproductive justice a reality.

show abstract

“…() procedural rules (unconscious representations) are what Bürgin () referred to as “intrapsychic entities” (p.106), which give symbolic meaning to observed events and which are unconsciously evoked during subsequent self–other interactions. Fraiberg, Adelson, and Shapiro's () concept of “ghosts in the nursey” metaphorically refers to the intrapsychic entities or procedural rules generated during a mother's own upbringing; rules or memories that interfere with her ability to form positive, nurturing relationships with her own infant. Barrows () viewed fathers’ ghosts primarily within the context of the father–mother relationship and noted that in the final analysis, it is the father–mother relationship that plays a key role in shaping the child's intersubjectivity.…”

Section: Development Of Alcohol Expectancies the Self And Mental Repmentioning

confidence: 99%

Boys, Early Risk Factors for Alcohol Problems, and the Development of the Self: An Interconnected Matrix

Puttler

Fitzgerald

Heitzeg

et al. 2016

Infant Mental Health Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs) are a major public health issue worldwide. Although drinking and problematic alcohol use usually begins during adolescence, developmental origins of the disorder can be traced back to infancy and early childhood. Identification of early risk factors is essential to understanding developmental origins. Using data from the Michigan Longitudinal Study, an ongoing, prospective, high-risk family study, this paper summarizes findings of family context and functioning of both children and parents. We draw attention to the development of the self, an understudied aspect of very young children being reared in alcoholic families that exacerbates exposure to high childhood adverse experiences. We also provide evidence demonstrating that young boys are embedded in a dynamic system of genes, epigenetic processes, brain organization, family dynamics, peers, community, and culture that strengthens risky developmental pathways if nothing is done to intervene during infancy and early childhood.

show abstract

Ghosts in the nursery: a psychoanalytic approach to the problems of impaired infant–mother relationships 1

Cited by 160 publications

References 0 publications

Strengthening the Reflective Functioning Capacities of Parents Who Have a Child With a Neurodevelopmental Disability Through a Brief, Relationship-Focused Intervention

Strengthening the Reflective Functioning Capacities of Parents Who Have a Child With a Neurodevelopmental Disability Through a Brief, Relationship-Focused Intervention

Reconceiving the field: Infant mental health, intersectionality, and reproductive justice

Boys, Early Risk Factors for Alcohol Problems, and the Development of the Self: An Interconnected Matrix

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About