Peer-reviewed article
Family healing: Contextual interventions in perinatal clinical practice
Kurimay T, Fenyves T, Pelikan A ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This paper discusses how perinatal clinical practice has evolved to include fathers and whole families, not just mothers and babies. It reviews evidence for family-based psychological and psychotherapeutic interventions to address parental mental health disorders and their effects on parent-child relationships and attachment. The authors argue that a 'think-family' approach in psychiatric care requires more evidence-based family interventions tailored to the perinatal period, particularly beyond depression to other disorders.
Key points
- Perinatal care has shifted focus from mother alone to the mother-baby dyad and now to include the role of fathers
- Parental mental health disorders affect family functioning, partner relationships, parent-child interactions, and attachment quality
- Psychological and psychotherapeutic interventions are the preferred methods for perinatal mental disorders
- While evidence exists for family interventions in other contexts, additional evidence is needed for perinatal applications
- A systems- and network theory framework is proposed for evidence-based family interventions in perinatal care
Limitations
This is a narrative review or conceptual paper rather than an empirical study, so it cannot provide quantitative evidence of intervention effectiveness or comparative efficacy of specific family interventions. The authors acknowledge gaps in the evidence rather than presenting new data.
Abstract
Abstract Body In perinatal clinical practice (PCP), the focus of care has shifted from the mother and then the baby-mother dyad to the emphasis on the role of fathers. Individual and therapeutic interventions are multimodal, and in almost all cases interdisciplinary cooperation is assumed. The preferred therapeutic methods for perinatal mental disorders are psychological and psychotherapeutic interventions. Through the life-course model, the central, therapeutic-conceptual role of the family can be understood, which - in clinical practice - reflects the need for “think-family” in psychiatric care. Hence there is a growing need for evidence-based family-interventions. Parental mental health disorders may have an impact on family functioning and partner relationship, as well as parent-child interactions, the quality of attachment and relationship with the child. Even though we have an increasing number of evidence regarding the aims and effectiveness of family interventions, additional evidence is needed to determine what interventions and modalities are effective in the perinatal period. And we also need information when these interventions are contraindicated and regarding their risk. It is conceivable that there is not much difference between the efficacy of family intervention methods used in other indications and the perinatal application of the same methods. We have gathered evidence primarily on perinatal depression, which opens the path of family interventions in other disorders. When thinking in the family as a general framework, it should be filled with evidence-based quantitative and qualitative anchors. The conceptual framework can be based on systems- and network theory. The presentation is illustrated with clinical vignettes. Disclosure No significant relationships.