[Case of bonding disorder effectively treated by Naikan therapy]

The perinatal period is important for establishing the mother-to-infant bond. Especially, psychiatric disorders during this period, such as postnatal depression, significantly affect mother-to-infant attachment. Recently, the concept of "Bonding Disorder" has been proposed to identify attachment disturbances between mothers and infants. Here, we report a case of bonding disorder effectively treated by Naikan therapy. The patient was a 28-year-old female. She suffered from depression and anxiety one week after giving birth, and then began to have negative feelings foward her child. First, she felt a lack of attachment, claiming for example, "I cannot feel my child is cute." Her negative feelings developed in to strong refusal, which made her say, "I want to give my child up for adoption." After admittance to our hospital, her depressive symptoms improved by adequate treatment with anti-depressants, but her attachment disturbances continued. Because of her character and inflexible child care, she tended to suffer from a mental conflict. She underwent treatment with intensive Naikan therapy and her attachment to her child improved. Mother-to-infant attachment is thought to be influenced by how the mother was brought up. Naikan therapy reflects the relationships with his/her relatives from childhood up to the present, providing an important element concerning attachment formation. Through Naikan therapy, mothers may recall that they themselves have received love from their parents, which strengthens the feeling of basic trust. Consequently, they are encouraged to love their children. Therefore, Nikan therapy is suggested to be one of the effective therapies to treat attachment disturbances between mothers and infants.