Towards a formulation of the fatherhood constellation: Representing absence

ABSTRACT

In contrast with Daniel Stern’s extensive work on the motherhood constellation, very little has been written about the fatherhood constellation. In an effort to explore emergent fatherhood and the idea of the fatherhood constellation, psychoanalytic research interviews were conducted with white, middle-class South African fathers of infants. The findings highlight two central themes which offer a way to begin thinking about the nature of the fatherhood constellation. Firstly, the fatherhood constellation is constituted by the father’s wish to protect and support the mother and baby. Secondly, the fatherhood constellation is characterized by what fatherhood is not, as opposed to what it is to be a father. Unlike the mother, the father does not get pregnant, he does not give birth and he cannot breastfeed, all defining features of motherhood. This paper subsequently suggests that the representation of absence may be a key step to the father’s presence in his own mind.

KEYWORDS:

• Fatherhood constellation
• motherhood constellation
• representation
• thirdness
• absence

Data availability

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article. Research participants did not give permission for interview transcripts to be accessed by third parties. For this reason, the complete data set is not available.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ Because this paper focuses on the transition to fatherhood, some of the subsequent discoveries about the mother-father and infant-father relationship have not been included in this paper. Berman (2020) explores these relationships in greater depth

² We would like to thank the anonymous reviewer who offered this insight

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sarah Berman

Sarah Berman is a registered counselling psychologist working in private practice. Her clinical interests include individual adult psychotherapy and parent-infant psychotherapy. She is currently reading for a PhD (including publication) in psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, where her primary research interest is in the area of fatherhood, particularly in relation to the self- and object representations of fathers.

Carol Long

Carol Long is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand, and a practicing clinical psychologist. Her research interests focus on issues of diversity, difference and marginality from a psychoanalytic perspective. She is particularly interested in the intersection of identities, and through this lens has explored the intersections between such identities as race and gender, motherhood and HIV, masculinity and fatherhood. Her current research projects focus on the intersection of identities within the context of psychotherapy.