Parents in the observer-position: a psychoanalytically informed use of video in the context of a brief parent-child intervention

Abstract

The paper investigates the possibility of integrating psychoanalytic observation with video-feedback technique in the framework of a brief parent-child intervention, using case illustrations from work with two different boys and their parents. The intervention also includes the clinical use of the Adult Attachment Interview. The paper suggests that the experience of being observed, being listened to, and of watching the video helps some parents to take on the observer-position providing a new perspective on the relationship which in turn enhances their capacity for reflective functioning.

Keywords:

• video-feedback
• infant and young child observation
• Adult Attachment Interview
• brief intervention
• parent-infant psychotherapy
• parental reflective function
• self- observation

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to Lisa Miller for her thoughtful and inspiring supervision while I was writing my dissertation, as well as for her valuable advice for the preparation of this article. I wish to thank Alexandra De Rementeria, for her patience in reading several times each line of each chapter of the dissertation on which this paper is based, and for helping me expand my ideas. I am also grateful to Claire Hayes, for reading this article and encouraging me to step into the observer-position. I am grateful to the team of the service where I worked in Rome for having welcomed my project and me, and especially to Dr. Adriana Vitrano who was the treatment coordinator for referred families. My gratitude goes also to the parents and children from whom I have learnt so much.

Notes

1. Transcripts classified as ‘Free/Autonomous (F)’ show the individual's capacity to discuss attachment experiences in an open, balanced and coherent manner, acknowledging the impact of both positive and negative experiences. ‘Dismissing (Ds)’ individuals, on the other hand, tend to keep their negative attachment experiences out of their conscious domain and to minimise the impact of these experiences on their personality. Individuals classified as ‘Enmeshed/Preoccupied (E)’ seem to be overwhelmed by the recollection of memories, which appear to evoke intense negative emotional responses. In addition, the interview highlights the individual's response to traumatic events and losses, which could lead to a classification of ‘Unresolved/Disorganised (U/d)’ state of mind (Main, 1990; Main, Goldwyn, Hesse, 2003).