A psycho-soma integration perspective in psychotherapy with parents and infants.

Drawing on a single case of a mother-infant difficult relationship, I shall consider the inseparability of psyche and soma and the embodiment of psychosomatic health and illness. A dualistic perspective prevents acknowledging that the mother’s concerns, conflicts and mental state can obstruct the milk flow and affect the infant’s feeding pattern, the mother-infant relationship and the infant’s health.

The aim of psychotherapists and all those with a professional concern for parents and infants should be that of understanding the positive value of a symptom and facilitating the mind integration with the soma.