{"id":{"repo_id":"essex","oai_identifier":"oai:repository.essex.ac.uk:25986"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/essex/oai:repository.essex.ac.uk:25986","repository":{"repo_id":"essex","name":"University of Essex","base_url":"https://repository.essex.ac.uk/cgi/oai2"},"display":{"title":"Parent-infant psychotherapy with a child showing early signs of autism: Is improvement in the nature of internal parental representations a key factor in therapeutic change? An in-depth qualitative study of a single case","abstract":"It has been claimed that parent-infant psychotherapy improves the parent-infant relationship (Barlow et al, 2015). However, little research has been done to explore how the internal parental representations of the main caregiver is connected to improvement in a child’s early signs of autism. Such symptoms can be considered in a relational context, since disturbances in the parent child relationship are known to be risk factors for infant social and emotional disorders. As early research confirms that the primary carer plays a significant role in regulating the infant’s mental states, this study will draw on concepts of intergenerational transmission and investigate a possible link between the nature of the parents’ internal representations and the symptoms of their child. This study will look at a single case where a child’s early signs of autism have improved after a twenty session treatment of parent infant psychotherapy and concurrently explore the changes in the internal representations of her main caregivers. Based on a qualitative narrative analysis of three sets of data; from parents’ interviews, process recorded notes of clinical sessions and parent infant video material, the hypothesis will be tested that improvement in internal representations is a key factor in the modification of symptoms in the child. Keywords: parent-infant psychotherapy, early signs of autism, autism, parent-infant relationship, intergenerational transmission, internal parental representations, autistic symptoms, ghosts in the nursery, angels in the nursery, family relationships.","abstract_html":"It has been claimed that parent-infant psychotherapy improves the parent-infant relationship (Barlow et al, 2015). However, little research has been done to explore how the internal parental representations of the main caregiver is connected to improvement in a child’s early signs of autism. Such symptoms can be considered in a relational context, since disturbances in the parent child relationship are known to be risk factors for infant social and emotional disorders. As early research confirms that the primary carer plays a significant role in regulating the infant’s mental states, this study will draw on concepts of intergenerational transmission and investigate a possible link between the nature of the parents’ internal representations and the symptoms of their child. This study will look at a single case where a child’s early signs of autism have improved after a twenty session treatment of parent infant psychotherapy and concurrently explore the changes in the internal representations of her main caregivers. Based on a qualitative narrative analysis of three sets of data; from parents’ interviews, process recorded notes of clinical sessions and parent infant video material, the hypothesis will be tested that improvement in internal representations is a key factor in the modification of symptoms in the child. Keywords: parent-infant psychotherapy, early signs of autism, autism, parent-infant relationship, intergenerational transmission, internal parental representations, autistic symptoms, ghosts in the nursery, angels in the nursery, family relationships.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Osafo, Yvonne M"],"institution":"University of Essex","degree_name":null,"degree_level":"other","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-11","date_published":"2019-11","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:18:29Z","subjects":["H Social Sciences (General)","RC0500 Psychoanalysis"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":null,"outbound_label":null,"outbound_source":null},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Osafo, Yvonne M"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2019-11"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2019-11"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.department","label":"Dc Publisher Department","values":["Department of Psychosocial & Psychoanalytic Studies"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Essex"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby","values":["https://repository.essex.ac.uk/25986/"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["other"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["H Social Sciences (General)","RC0500 Psychoanalysis"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://repository.essex.ac.uk/25986/2/Yvonne%20Osafo%20Doctorate%20Thesis.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["It has been claimed that parent-infant psychotherapy improves the parent-infant relationship (Barlow et al, 2015). However, little research has been done to explore how the internal parental representations of the main caregiver is connected to improvement in a child’s early signs of autism. Such symptoms can be considered in a relational context, since disturbances in the parent child relationship are known to be risk factors for infant social and emotional disorders. As early research confirms that the primary carer plays a significant role in regulating the infant’s mental states, this study will draw on concepts of intergenerational transmission and investigate a possible link between the nature of the parents’ internal representations and the symptoms of their child. This study will look at a single case where a child’s early signs of autism have improved after a twenty session treatment of parent infant psychotherapy and concurrently explore the changes in the internal representations of her main caregivers. Based on a qualitative narrative analysis of three sets of data; from parents’ interviews, process recorded notes of clinical sessions and parent infant video material, the hypothesis will be tested that improvement in internal representations is a key factor in the modification of symptoms in the child. Keywords: parent-infant psychotherapy, early signs of autism, autism, parent-infant relationship, intergenerational transmission, internal parental representations, autistic symptoms, ghosts in the nursery, angels in the nursery, family relationships."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["text"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Parent-infant psychotherapy with a child showing early signs of autism: Is improvement in the nature of internal parental representations a key factor in therapeutic change? An in-depth qualitative study of a single case"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Osafo, Yvonne M"],"dc:date":["2019-11"],"dc:date.issued":["2019-11"],"dc:description.abstract":["It has been claimed that parent-infant psychotherapy improves the parent-infant relationship (Barlow et al, 2015). However, little research has been done to explore how the internal parental representations of the main caregiver is connected to improvement in a child’s early signs of autism. Such symptoms can be considered in a relational context, since disturbances in the parent child relationship are known to be risk factors for infant social and emotional disorders. As early research confirms that the primary carer plays a significant role in regulating the infant’s mental states, this study will draw on concepts of intergenerational transmission and investigate a possible link between the nature of the parents’ internal representations and the symptoms of their child. This study will look at a single case where a child’s early signs of autism have improved after a twenty session treatment of parent infant psychotherapy and concurrently explore the changes in the internal representations of her main caregivers. Based on a qualitative narrative analysis of three sets of data; from parents’ interviews, process recorded notes of clinical sessions and parent infant video material, the hypothesis will be tested that improvement in internal representations is a key factor in the modification of symptoms in the child. Keywords: parent-infant psychotherapy, early signs of autism, autism, parent-infant relationship, intergenerational transmission, internal parental representations, autistic symptoms, ghosts in the nursery, angels in the nursery, family relationships."],"dc:format":["text"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://repository.essex.ac.uk/25986/2/Yvonne%20Osafo%20Doctorate%20Thesis.pdf"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:publisher.department":["Department of Psychosocial & Psychoanalytic Studies"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Essex"],"dc:relation.isreferencedby":["https://repository.essex.ac.uk/25986/"],"dc:subject":["H Social Sciences (General)","RC0500 Psychoanalysis"],"dc:title":["Parent-infant psychotherapy with a child showing early signs of autism: Is improvement in the nature of internal parental representations a key factor in therapeutic change? An in-depth qualitative study of a single case"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.qualificationlevel":["other"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:18:29Z"}