This study was designed to consider how the therapist's work is affected by the special circumstances of her pregnancy. The aim was to use therapists' observations to examine the experiences of disruption and interruption in the work, processes of envy and identification, and the therapists' integrations of work and family life. The participants were eight experienced psychotherapists, all but one of whom had worked as therapists through more than one pregnancy. This allowed for some delineation of the effects of mothering on their work and development, and consideration of the differences between first and subsequent pregnancies. The study was conducted through intensive semistructured interviews that were recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. Some selections from the interviews are included in the presentation and discussion of the data. Data are reported and discussed in chapters that address the accommodation of the event, the experiences of the therapies, and the transitions and transformations experienced by the therapists in response to pregnancy and mothering. Factors that influence the patients' responses are explicated, and a discussion is offered pertaining to the interplay of patients' and therapists' responses. Particular attention was given to boundary phenomena; the influences of envy, guilt, and idealization; and the influences of mothering on the therapist's development.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-4980 |
| Date | 01 January 1988 |
| Creators | Wagner, Madeline Anne |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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