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Self-mutilation in a new mother: a strategy for separating from her infant

P V Trad1

  • 1Child and Adolescent Outpatient Department, Cornell University Medical Center, White Plains, NY 10605.

American Journal of Psychotherapy
|July 1, 1989
PubMed

A primiparous mother, aged 25 years, first presented for treatment when her infant was three months of age. A comprehensive case history disclosed that the mother had experienced two prior full-fledged psychotic episodes requiring hospitalization. During treatment, the mother underwent an abortion and burned her face with kitchen chemicals. This case history reveals a pattern of self-mutilating behavior whenever the mother is confronted with events threatening imminent separation or individuation.

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