“The early parental caregiving is inscribed in the body of the baby and contributes to the structure of his mind. All the primary inscriptions program and shape, not only the brain of the newborn, but also are going to reemerge when this baby will become a parent.”
Meropi Michaleli, Ph.D
Athens
Episode Description:
Harvey Schwartz welcomes Dr. Meropi Michaleli who is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst in Athens, Greece. Dr. Michaleli’s practice focuses on the psychoanalytic approach to pregnancy, the perinatal period, infertility and parent-infant therapy. She studied psychosomatics in Paris; she trained in brief mother-infant psychotherapy in Geneva and she has become a teacher of teachers, especially for health personnel involved in the perinatal and neonatal period especially those faced with infants and families under high psychosocial risk.
As you will hear in today’s interview, she has a deep appreciation of the importance of early intervention with parents and infants in order to forestall later pathologies, especially the intergenerational transmission of trauma.
Key Takeaways:
[3:55] Dr. Michaleli’s program and her skills as an analyst applied to the perinatal period.
[5:20] How psychoanalytic thinking can contribute to healthcare.
[5:45] The transition to parenthood is a co-creation involving parents , the newborn, the fetus and the perinatal team.
[7:00] Four theoretical references for the perinatal period.
[7:54] The neuroscience research
[9:30] Importance of primary intervention.
[10:01] Interrupting intergenerational trauma by introducing a new way of relating.
[11:27] Enabling healthcare personnel to work using psychoanalytic resources.
[14:08] Decreasing of fragmentation and confusion in perinatal care.
[16:05] Psychoanalysis provides a holistic understanding for healthcare professionals.
[17:14] Group cohesiveness for professionals.
[17:30] Clinical case.
[21:10] Dr. Michaleli’s personal motivation to work in this area.
[23:50] From theory to real time interventions.
[24:28] The manifestation of the unknown.
[26:38] Interrupting intergenerational transmission of trauma through psychoanalytic intervention in the medical care system in Greece.
Recommended Readings
MANCIA M. (1981) On the beginning of mental life in the foetus. International .Journal of Psychoanalysis, 62:351-357
RAPHAEL-LEFF J. (1993) Pregnancy -The inside story. London, Karnac
ROUSSILLON R. (2009) Associativity and Non-Verbal Language, https://reneroussillon.com/r-roussillon-en-anglais-in-english/associativity-and-non-verbal-language/
SALOMONSSON B. (2018) Psychodynamic interventions in pregnancy and Infancy Clinical and Theoretical Perspectives. London, NY, Routledge
WINNICOTT D. W. (1967): Mirror-role of mother and family in child development. In Playing and Reality. London: Routledge, 1999.
How I wish that in my country there were this type of programs. That parents have a process of psychoanalysis during and after pregnancy will make a big difference in the development of the child and in his psychic structure.ñ, and eventually in their own experience of parenting. amazing program, Dr. Meropi.
Dear dr Michaleli,
I listened to your podcast with deep interest as a psychoanalytical candidate and the mother of a newborn. I was wondering whether you could suggest any reference for the neurobiological data you mentioned in the interview.
Many thanks for your rich and generous contribution,
Sincerely,
Dr. Meropi Michaleli mentions working with someone (perhaps the name Andre) who was from Montreal. Can you please inform me of this person’s name? I am a psychodynamically focussed therapist working in perinatal mental health in Toronto and would like to connect with others geographically accessible.
I have been trained and collaborated with Yvon Gauthier, Psychoanalyst ,former Professor of Child Psychiatry in Montreal. He is retired now, but you can see if his colleagues continue this work in the Perinatal period.
Very knowledgeable and informative.. Some kind of visual accompaniment to the podcast would help.
Thank you. Gracias. Ezkerrikasko. Obrigada.
Intergenerational transmission of trauma shows up, per my personal and professional experience, in the narratives of immigrants and their children. Is a vast, uncharted land, for psychoanalysis. Perinatal psychoanalysis, off the couch, is an opportunity to understand and help integrate new elements to those narratives.
Thanks for your comment.Indeed, I totally agree that the birth of babies from first- generation migrant mothers, is a major public health issue.While the parenting process reactivates the need for rapprochement with parental figures-both internal and external- migrant mothers have been forcedly detached from their roots,home,language and culture.All these are losses these parents are not offered enough or adequate space to go through and elaborate, with the support of well trained and experienced health professionals, in their host society.
Please send me your email address, via LinkedIn, I can tell you more about our work with migrant women in Greece, where, as you may know , the last five years we have undergone a severe refugee crisis.