Blog

We will all encounter the impact of reproductive trauma in our client work. But we may not always know it. From intergenerational trauma to disenfranchised grief, issues related to reproduction often lie deep beneath the presenting problem, sometimes buried within a family history or silenced by social norms. In the second of two posts ahead of PESI UK’s Women’s Trauma Summit 2022, reproductive psychologist Julie Bindeman draws our attention to the huge range of ways in which reproductive trauma can show up in clinic, and be experienced by our clients.

What sorts of useful information might perinatal context afford? How might we start to explore this sensitively with a young person’s parents or caregivers? In the second of two blog posts about the importance of including perinatal history in assessment, Florence Nadaud, child and adolescent psychodynamic psychotherapist, urges us not to skip the opening chapters of our clients’ lives.

Enquiring as far back as pregnancy and birth can reveal the best path forward for therapy, regardless of our clients’ age. In some cases, clinical formulation can even hinge on it. In the first of two blog posts on taking perinatal histories, Florence Nadaud, child and adolescent psychodynamic psychotherapist, shares her work with one young person whose traumatic birth story shed new light on his current difficulties – and, just as crucially, helped her to reflect on parental and professional attitudes towards his presentation.