The Experience of Being a Pregnant Group Therapist

Abstract

This paper concentrates on the impact that the group analyst's pregnancy had on a therapeutic group, highlighting the themes evoked, the transference issues that emerged and the countertransference feelings that impinged on the therapist's analytical thinking. The case material and group process is understood in relation to published literature on the subject, establishing the common ground between the individual and group reactions to the interruption of the reality of the therapist's life into the therapeutic setting. The general belief that this material can be usefully analysed and employed to the overall benefit of the patients' therapy in the group is confirmed.