Perinatal & Postnatal Therapy
Sylvie has experience working in the field of perinatal and postnatal mental health, in addition to working with fathers and parent-infant psychotherapy. Her theoretical education and core training is informed by TA, attachment-based theory grounded in neuroscience, mentalisation techniques, object-relations and watch, wait and wonder interventions.
Perinatal and Postnatal work
It is my passionate belief that when we support mothers, fathers, grandparents and carers with assurance, empathy, trust, compassion, knowledge and security we provide psychotherapeutic opportunities for the carer/ mother and baby to experience new encounters of joy, wonder and compassion.
Secure attachment and developmental attunement creates new neurological pathways for the infant, which are not only generative for the baby but also for the mother/carer and provide longstanding positive effects for emotional self -regulation and cognitive development.
The benefits of emotional regulation are mutually beneficial, generating neurological plasticity which can radically alter and interrupt the longstanding and devastating effects of transgenerational trauma and childhood adversity. I have seen and witnessed profound change occur not only in myself, but also directly in my clinical experience as a psychotherapist working in both general and perinatal specialisms.
Bonding and attachment
The journey to parenthood is unique and its own right, and there is no straightforward linear path. Bonding and Attachment can take time, and it can be a difficult process for a multitude of reasons. Parent Infant therapy facilitates a safe and contained environment to explore unconscious and conscious feelings about the past and how these manifest within present relationships with baby while also holding mum/dad or carer in mind.
Parent infant therapy can help parents identify babies' needs and cues
Develop an understanding about the language of infancy
Help parents become attuned to baby and support emotional regulation
Help parents build resilience and support their own regulation
Explore creative play to facilitate bonding and attachment
Fatherhood
Dad’s mental health is critical and new research indicates that 1 in 10 dads report depression and suffer from mental health shortly after the birth of their first child. Currently, there is no standard requirement to screen fathers for mental health. I can provide therapeutic support and 1-2-1 sessions for dads in support of dealing with depression, anxiety, OCD, bereavement, historical trauma and transitions to fatherhood.
Postnatal Depression
Perinatal counselling and parent-infant therapy can help with postnatal depression. Motherhood can be a time of alienation, anxiety, loneliness, obsessive thoughts, suicidal ideation and grief. Many mothers experience motherhood as an emotional storm, and without a ‘good enough’ support structure to help contain and explore their emotions. This does not mean you are failing as a mum. Postnatal depression effects nearly 20% of new mothers and it can impact the maternal infant bond. I work with mothers to help process their experience of motherhood and recover from postnatal depression.
Identity
“Nothing could have prepared me for the realisation that I was a mother when I knew I was still in a state of uncreation myself.” Adrienne Rich.
The transition to motherhood can evoke a state of confusion, loss of former life, despair, alienation and being torn in many competing directions: mum, partner, employer, daughter, friend and carer. Perinatal counselling can help address and identify how unhelpful external expectations impact mental health and motherhood. Many of the mothers I work with experience a loss of identity - perinatal counselling can provide a compassionate and creative space to explore these feelings.