Psychotherapy for pregnancy loss : applying relationship science to clinical practice / Rayna D. Markin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Markin, Rayna D., author.

Series:

Oxford scholarship online.

Oxford scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Grief therapy.

Miscarriage--Psychological aspects.

Miscarriage.

Infertility--Psychological aspects.

Infertility.

Parental grief.

Loss (Psychology).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (0 pages)

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2024.

Summary:

Pregnancy loss, the death of a conceptus, fetus, or neonate before the 21st day of life, affects a substantial number of women & their partners, & can lead to severe & long-lasting psychological consequences. Perinatal grief, however, is often invalidated, avoided, or dismissed in Western society. Therapy can offer bereaved parents an empathic & affect-regulating relationship in which to mourn. In this book, Rayna D. Markin applies cutting-edge research on the therapist-client relationship to individual & couples therapy for pregnancy loss & related forms of reproductive trauma, in such a way that is easy for clinicians to utilize in various settings. Through in-depth clinical illustrations & practical relational guidance, Markin shows how the therapy relationship can help clients affected by pregnancy loss to mourn their losses, process & grow from trauma & loss, & restore healthy self-esteem.

Contents:

Cover

Psychotherapy for Pregnancy Loss

Copyright

Contents

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction

Definitions

Intended Audiences

Trajectory of the Book

Organization of Chapters

The Background: Evidence-​Based Relationships and Responsiveness

Meta-​Analysis: What, Why, and How?

Putting the Task Force's Conclusions and Recommendations into Action

2. Understanding and Treating Pregnancy Loss: Rates, Risk Factors, Symptomatology, and Implications for the Therapeutic Relationship and Treatment

Rates and Risk Factors

Symptomatology Associated with Pregnancy Loss

Normal Versus Complicated Perinatal Grief: Diagnostic Features, Risk Factors, and Sociocultural Considerations

Reflections on the Unique Aspects of Perinatal Grief

How Attachment Theory Helps to Understand the Psychological Experience of Pregnancy Loss Grief: Implications for Treatment

Psychological Treatment of Pregnancy Loss: A Symptomatic Versus Relational Focus

Why Is the Relationship Important in Psychotherapy for Pregnancy Loss?

Therapy Goals and Outcomes

Conclusion

3. The Alliance in Individual and Couples Therapy for Pregnancy Loss

Alliance: An Evidence-​Based Relationship Principle

Characteristics That Facilitate the Alliance

Clinical Application: The Alliance in Therapy for Pregnancy Loss

Therapist-​Client Bond

Agreement on Goals and Tasks of Therapy for Pregnancy Loss

Common Challenges to Establishing and Maintaining a Strong Alliance

Clinical Implications

4. Empathy in Psychotherapy for Pregnancy Loss: Undoing Aloneness, Healing Narcissistic Wounds, and Processing Trauma and Grief

Empathy: An Evidence-​Based Relationship Principle

Clinical Application: Empathic Goals and Interventions for Pregnancy Loss

Empathy: The Undoing of Isolation and Aloneness.

Healing Narcissistic Wounds: Counteracting Shame and Restoring Self-​Esteem

Processing Trauma and Grief: Healing and Growing from the Horror of Loss

Common Challenges to Therapist Empathy in Psychotherapy for Pregnancy Loss

5. Emotion in Psychotherapy for Pregnancy Loss: Mourning as an Affective-​Relational Process

Emotional Expression: An Evidence-​Based Relationship Principle

Productive and Unproductive Emotional Expression for Pregnancy Loss

Clinical Application of Working with Emotion in Psychotherapy for Pregnancy Loss: Goals and Interventions

Self-​Restructuring: Rebuilding Self-​Esteem as a Necessary Foundation for Emotion Work

Emotional Soothing and Alliance Building

Downregulating Inhibitory Affects and Relinquishing Defenses: Applying Malan's Triangle of Conflict and of Person

Deepening Primary Affective Experiencing and Expression

Common Challenges to Emotion in Therapy for Pregnancy Loss: Personal Reflections

6. Alliance Rupture and Repair Episodes in Psychotherapy for Pregnancy Loss: An Attachment Perspective

Alliance Rupture and Repair: An Evidence-​Based Relationship Principle

Strategies for Repair or Resolution of Alliance Ruptures

Rupture and Repair: An Attachment Perspective

Clinical Application: Rupture and Repair Themes in Therapy for Pregnancy Loss

Ruptures Related to Shame and Inadequacy: Healing Narcissistic Wounds

Ruptures Related to Societal Invalidation of Pregnancy Loss: Repairing Empathic Failures

Ruptures as Reenactments of Past Attachment Experiences of Separation and Loss: Facilitating a Secure Attachment and the Grieving Process Through Repair

Clinical Challenges

7. Managing Countertransference in Psychotherapy for Pregnancy Loss.

Countertransference Management: An Evidence-​Based Relationship Principle

Therapist Self-​Disclosure: Helpful Intervention or Countertransference Behavior?

Immediacy

The Client Role

Common Countertransference Themes in Psychotherapy for Pregnancy Loss: Application to the Case of Hana

When One of Us Is Not Like the Other: Transference and Countertransference Issues When the Therapist or Client Becomes Pregnant

Countertransference Reactions to Trauma

Clinical Challenges to Countertransference Management

8. Client Attachment in Therapy for Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Infertility: Theory, Research, and Clinical Guidelines

Chapter Overview

What Is Attachment Theory and How Can It Be Used as a Clinical Guide in Individual and Couples Therapy for Pregnancy Loss?

How Does Attachment Relate to the Process and Outcome of Therapy: Attachment as an Evidence-​Based Therapist Responsiveness Principle

Empirical Findings: Client Attachment and Therapy Outcome

Empirical Findings: Client Attachment and the Therapy Process

Coping with RPL and Infertility Through an Attachment Theory Lens

Empirical Findings on RPL and Infertility Stress: An Attachment Trigger

Summary and Next Steps

9. Relational Guidance on Therapist Responsiveness to Client Attachment in Individual and Couples Therapy for Recurrent Pregnancy Loss and Infertility

Overview

Identifying the More Anxious Client in Therapy for RPL and Infertility

Relational Guidance for Anxious Clients Struggling with RPL and Infertility

Identifying More Avoidant Clients Struggling with RPL and Infertility

Relational Guidance for Avoidant Clients Struggling with RPL and Infertility

Clinical Challenges to Therapist Responsiveness to Client Attachment

Clinical Implications.

10. Where Do We Go From Here? Future Research Directions, Training Recommendations, and Practice Implications

Future Research Directions

Training Recommendations

Practice Implications

Appendix: Table A.1. Easy-​to-​Administer and Easy-​to-​Score Measures of Important Relationship Components That Can Be Used in Clinical Practice

References

Index.

Notes:

Also issued in print: 2024.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (viewed on November 15, 2023).

ISBN:

0-19-769337-7

0-19-769338-5

0-19-769336-9

OCLC:

1399530475