Support Group II: Maternal Representation of the Lost Father

Abstract

In the Project for Mothers, Infants, and Young Children of September 11, 2001, we conducted a support group for women who were pregnant when their husbands died on that date. The trauma of their husbands' death triggered complex and contradictory needs in these pregnant women who would soon be new mothers. This article explores ways in which the women with their babies used the therapy group to understand and grieve their loss. It documents how the therapeutic process, including the therapists' participation, represented the lost father/husband based on the understanding of him as conveyed by each mother. The article also describes how the group and the therapists supported the concurrent needs to grieve while at the same time to nurture a new baby.