When two are a family: Looking backward and looking forward in a group intervention with single-by-choice mothers

Objective: We describe a preventive short-term group intervention with nine single-by-choice (SBC) mothers to provide maximal support for parental functioning and to minimize possible emotional and/or developmental difficulties in their children. Method: Dynamically oriented group work (fifteen one-and-a-half-hour sessions) focused on: elaboration of painful experiences in the peri-natal period; reducing stress, tension and guilt; helping mothers with problematic aspects of parenting through work on parental self-image and perceptions of the child and the dyadic interaction; and strengthening their acceptance of the chosen family model. Results: Therapeutic gains described by mothers and facilitators include: reduced tension, anxiety and guilt; improved integration of the mother's parental self-image and perception of the child; reduced ambivalence in dyadic relationships; strengthening the mother's fantasized triadic relationships; better acceptance of chosen family pattern; mothers' willingness to tell children their birth story. Conclusion: Dynamically oriented preventive group intervention with SBC mothers can identify potential psychological risk factors and help mothers with sensitive aspects of parenting.