Short‐term psychodynamic infant–parent interventions at Child health centers: Outcomes on parental depression and infant social–emotional functioning

Abstract

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) demonstrate efficacy of parent–infant psychotherapy, but its applicability and effectiveness in public health care are less known. The method followed is Naturalistic study evaluating Short‐term Psychodynamic Infant–Parent Interventions at Child Health Centers (SPIPIC) in Stockholm, Sweden. One hundred distressed mothers with infants were recruited by supervised nurses. Six therapists provided 4.3 therapy sessions on average (SD = 3.3). Sessions typically included the mothers, often with the baby present, while fathers rarely attended sessions. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social–Emotional (ASQ: SE) were distributed at baseline and at 3 and 9 months later. Data from a nonclinical group were collected simultaneously to provide norm data. Multilevel growth models on the mothers’ questionnaire scores showed significant decreases over time on both measures. Nine months after baseline, 50% achieved a reliable change on the EPDS and 14% on the ASQ: SE. Prepost effect‐sizes (d) were 0.70 and 0.40 for EPDS and ASQ: SE, figures that are comparable to results of other controlled studies. Psychotherapists integrated with public health care seem to achieve good results when supporting distressed mothers with brief interventions in the postnatal period. SPIPIC needs to be compared with other modalities and organizational frameworks.

Prenatal Reflective Functioning as a Predictor of Substance-Using Mothers' Treatment Outcome: Comparing Results From Two Different RF Measures

“…However, it was no more effective in improving other aspects of mother-infant interaction (e.g., sensitivity) or maternal mood or in decreasing substance use than individually tailored psychosocial parenting support (PSS, which represented treatment as usual). To our knowledge, there are no other studies on psychodynamic parent-infant psychotherapies among mothers with SUD, but among other high risks groups, parent-infant dyadic psychotherapy (Fonagy et al, 2016 ; Mattheß et al, 2021 ; Salomonsson et al, 2021 ) has been effective in improving parenting, maternal mood symptoms, and child socioemotional development.…”