Make Room for Baby by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781462543519
Publisher: Guilford Publications
Published: 2020-07-22T04:00:00+00:00

The Mother–Baby Relationship: “The Mother Hen and Her Brood of Chicks”

The target of treatment now became Zazil’s capacity for reflective functioning to promote a secure attachment in her infant. This goal involved a dual focus on Zazil’s understanding of herself and of her baby. Insight-oriented, trauma-informed interventions were vehicles for developing coherent trauma narratives and protective narratives to create sustaining meaning and greater emotional regulation in her day-to-day life. Culturally attuned psychoeducation provided concrete knowledge about the attachment needs of babies and the effects of IPV on attachment, maternal depression, and anxiety. Using nature metaphors and mindfulness exercises, the clinician elucidated for Zazil the importance of her role as a mother in providing sensitive, responsive, and consistent care to promote healthy development in her baby. She also used nature metaphors to describe symptoms of anxiety and nervios/depression, and taught Zazil mindfulness-based exercises, such as diaphragmatic breathing, visualization, and guided-imagery techniques for emotion regulation. Body-scan exercises were also included to encourage an awareness of body sensations and the feelings accompanying these bodily changes.

The clinician brought to one of these sessions pictures of a hen and her chickens to help Zazil access memories of growing up on a farm surrounded by nature and animals. She used the metaphor of “a mother hen and her brood of chicks” to illustrate that children need their parents to be a secure base for exploration and a haven of safety and comfort in times of distress. She also explained to Zazil how witnessing IPV can frighten the baby and disturb this biologically driven motivation to establish close relationships with primary caregivers for survival and protection. She said, “I brought some pictures that may remind you of the time when you lived on a farm in your village. I remember when you told me that your grandmother raised chickens.” Zazil smiled at the clinician and said, “Those were the happiest days of my life.” The clinician replied, “I can see that. Those were really good times for you because you were with your grandmother.” Pointing to one of the pictures of a hen and her chickens, she asked Zazil, “Do you remember the mother hen and her chicks? Do you have memories of what happened after her chicks hatched?” With a big smile, Zazil replied, “They were so cute! They were always with their mother. They followed her everywhere she went.” Also smiling, the clinician replied, “You remember how cute they were . . . the picture brings back pleasant memories. Yes, chicks are always with their mother. Do you have memories of what the mother hen and her chicks did when they were roaming around the field?” Zazil said with a smile, “The hen used to find food for her chicks. She would cluck to call her chicks when she found a worm . . . I think she was teaching them what to eat. The chicks would also be playing near the mother hen, not too far away from her.” The clinician said, “Yes. She teaches them what to eat and lets them explore their world safely, not too far away from her.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.