Pregnancy, Assisted Reproduction, and Psychoanalysis reflects on contemporary views on pregnancy, while offering guidance on how to work with women and couples experiencing infertility as well as the unique issues raised by having a child through assisted reproduction technologies. Comprised of chapters written by eminent analysts working with infertile couples and women, and parents who have a child born from assisted reproduction, this book offers insightful ways to better understand the challenges these patients undertake and the various issues this might bring into the analytic room. The contributors examine the myriad psychic problems subjects are confronted with which could impact their ability to bond with children born through ART: the mourning processes infertility entails, the identification with the fertile parental couple, the unconscious representation of origin, the representation of the primal scene, and the process of symbolic affiliation. They consider the working-through these processes necessitate in order to enable filiation and healthy parenting, and give invaluable tools to the analyst to enable the promotion of psychological growth. Throughout, the chapters address the emotions that infertility summons in which both patient and analyst find a spectrum of unconscious phantasies and anxieties. This book is an essential read for psychoanalysts and other professionals working in the field of ART, as well as those interested in motherhood and its vicissitudes and intersection with psychoanalysis.

This book stems from the author's clinical experience working with infertile women in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. It highlights the crucial importance of integrative work of psychotherapists and psychoanalysts with reproductive medical specialists in assisted reproductive technology (ART).

Wedding up-to-date scientific information to an understanding of the emotional burdens and ethical dilemmas that inhere in reproductive medicine, Frozen Dreams: Psychodynamic Dimensions of Infertility and Assisted Reproduction provides an overview of the psychology of infertility patients and of the evaluative, administrative, and especially psychotherapeutic issues involved in helping them. The contributors to this volume, who include professionals from nationally prestigious reproductive programs as well as psychotherapists who evaluate and work clinically with infertility patients, explore the complex choices about life and death that are the daily experience of infertility specialists. In voices equally authoritative and intimate, psychotherapists and other health professionals explore the therapeutic process with patients and couples struggling with miscarriage, infertility, childlessness, the possibility of adoption, and the promise of assisted pregnancy. And the contributors are equally attentive to the range of issues that challenge physicians and nurses active in reproductive medicine, intent on providing practical information that will aid decision-making in this demanding area of practice. Written for a large audience of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, researchers, nurses, physicians, and general readers, Frozen Dreams is a fascinating introduction to the human face of reproductive medicine. Filled with intriguing and edifying case histories, it will appeal to all mental health professionals who work with adult patients through their childbearing years. For professionals who work inside the complex world of infertility treatment, Frozen Dreams will quickly become an essential text that is turned to repeatedly for information, guidance, reassurance, and revitalization.

Explores the mental states associated with pregnancy, birth and the early days of motherhood from a psychoanalytic perspective. Drawing on clinical research findings and the infant observation method originally developed by Esther Bick, the contributors examine a range of topics which include: how women's view of motherhood is influenced by social, cultural and biotechnological factors; how women's sense of identity changes throughout pregnancy and motherhood; how women's relationships with her family, partner and future child are shaped; and how mental health professionals can better understand ways to work with issues of maternal and infant mental health.--Publisher description.

The image of a heavily pregnant woman, once considered ugly and indecent, is now common to Hollywood film. No longer is pregnancy a repulsive of shameful condition, but an attractive attribute, often enhancing the romantic or comedic storyline of a female protagonist. Kelly Oliver investigates this curious shift and its reflection of changing attitudes toward women's roles in reproduction and the family.

The “Here and Now” of French Psychoanalysis provides an overview of the living psychoanalytic landscape in France through the voice of experienced psychoanalysts who continue to transform the legacy of Freud, Lacan and others in their publications and clinical practice. Rachel Boué-Widawsky interviews a wide range of practitioners, underscoring the specificities of French psychoanalysis and exploring how the French psychoanalytic community has responded theoretically and clinically to the global crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial and gender issues. Mimicking the process of psychoanalytic dialogue, the interview format allows for a lively and engaging discussion of each practitioner’s theoretical background and their clinical approach. Boué-Widawsky includes leading individuals in the field as well as representatives of key institutions including La Maison de Solenn and the Centre Jean-Favreau. The “Here and Now” of French Psychoanalysis presents an accessible introduction to this distinctive psychoanalytic landscape. It will be essential reading for psychoanalysts in practice and in training and for academics and students of psychoanalytic studies.

This volume covers the range of reactions that both patients and clients have to the circumstance of a child entering the therapist’s family. Through research, the authors show these reactions can be extremely powerful, and when fully explored can be used to advance the therapy and the development of the patient. Rich clinical illustrations are provided throughout the text. In addition, the reader is offered many therapeutic strategies for working with patient-therapist reactions as they unfold. Many practical issues arise in conjunction with this life transition. Examples include announcing a pregnancy or an imminent adoption, planning parental leave and covering the patient’s needs during the hiatus. In this second edition, therapists who are members of LGBT families and single parent families are described in terms of their special needs, challenges and resources. This updated edition also contains a new chapter on special problems that can arise during pregnancy.