This state-of-the-art clinician's guide describes Perinatal Child-Parent Psychotherapy (P-CPP), a treatment for pregnant women and their partners whose readiness to nurture a baby is compromised by traumatic stress and adverse life experiences. An application to pregnancy of the widely disseminated, evidence-based Child-Parent Psychotherapy, P-CPP spans the prenatal period through the first 6 months of life. Extended cases illustrate ways to help mothers and fathers understand how trauma has affected them, navigate the physical and emotional challenges of becoming parents, build essential caregiving competencies, and ensure the safety of their babies and themselves. Cultural considerations in working with diverse families are addressed through specific intervention examples.

This clinician's guide describes Perinatal Child Parent Psychotherapy (P-CPP), a treatment for pregnant women and their partners whose readiness to nurture a baby is compromised by traumatic stress and adverse life experiences. An application to pregnancy of the widely disseminated Child Parent Psychotherapy, P-CPP spans the prenatal period through the first 6 months of life. Extended cases illustrate ways to help parents understand how trauma has affected them, navigate the challenges of becoming parents, build caregiving competencies, and ensure the safety of their babies and themselves. Cultural considerations in working with diverse families are addressed through specific examples.

"Actively helping mothers to raise healthy kids has been shown to be the single most effective mental health intervention there is. Lieberman and her colleagues have decades of clinical experience, and extensive clinical research studies show the effectiveness of P-CPP, which focuses on mitigating how parents own trauma histories get in the way of effective parenting. This highly efficacious approach, which includes identifying traumatic experiences and a supportive approach to 'speaking the unspeakable,' has been scientifically shown to improve parentchild relationships and to promote safety and hope. A 'must read' for all of us working with traumatized children and families."--Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD, Founder and President, Trauma Research Foundation, Massachusetts "An extraordinary and groundbreaking book. Grounded in Liebermans enormously influential CPP model, P-CPP addresses a period in the life of a family that is often overlooked by scholars and practitioners. In this tour de force, Lieberman and her colleagues offer a detailed, nuanced, and accessible view of the perinatal period. The book provides a culturally sensitive, trauma-informed framework for clinical intervention with infants and parents during their earliest days as a family. Beautifully written, clinically rich, and highly practical, this book is a gift!"--Arietta Slade, PhD, Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine "This book describes an exciting, innovative application of CPP during the perinatal period. The rich clinical examples, detailed explanations, and cultural wisdom throughout the book will allow clinicians to understand the complexities--as well as the enormous benefits--of applying this evidence-based trauma treatment during pregnancy and the first year of life. This book is a gem for infant mental health clinicians."--Judith A. Cohen, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Allegheny Health Network, Drexel University College of Medicine "Poignant and powerful--often breathtaking. Cases vividly portray the impact of current, past, and historical trauma on parents developing relationships with their infants, and demonstrate how sensitive, skillful psychotherapy can facilitate internal and external changes for new parents. Destined to be a classic, this book offers a compelling presentation of the 'why,' 'what,' and 'how' of therapy during the perinatal period--and what it takes to do it well. It is essential reading for all therapists who work with parents in this critical period and will be of interest to everyone concerned about the impact of early experience on the developing child."--Paula Doyle Zeanah, PhD, MSN, RN, Professor and Lafayette General Medical Center/Our Lady of Lourdes Endowed Chair in Nursing, University of Louisiana at Lafayette; Director of Research, Cecil Picard Center for Child Development-