Taylor and Francis Ploye, P: The Prenatal Theme in Psychotherapy

Over the course of the last fifty years, research has shown that the ability of the foetus to feel, experience and perceive is much greater than had previously been supposed, yet debate continues concerning sensations of fear, aggression and relating the 'self' to the environment of the womb. Using theoretical and clinical material, Philippe Ploye summarizes previous work on the significance of prenatal behaviour in psychotherapy and expands on this body of work to provide an informative and constructive account of the ways in which life before birth can both foreshadow problems experienced in postnatal life and can mirror the close, dependent nature of the relationship between patient and analyst established in a psychotherapeutic context. Ploye's text reveals a continuity of experience from prenatal stages through to adulthood and will appeal to all psychotherapists interested in the development of human behaviour from conception onwards, and the implications of this for the concept of the self.