Anne-Catherine Rolland
Reims University School of Medicine, France
Title: Treating postnatal depression with group therapy
Biography
Biography: Anne-Catherine Rolland
Abstract
Introduction. – Postnatal depression (PND) affects 10 to 15 % of the women who gave birth. The “postnatal depression group” is a group therapy set up in the parents-infant unit of the child psychiatry department of the university hospital of Reims city in France. The purpose of this communication is to present how the women who suffered from postnatal depression feel about this group therapy in order to improve its quality and broaden its use.
Method. – It is a qualitative study based on a semi-directed interview with a survey. The study sample is a population of 9 mothers who participated in the PND group in the last six years.
Results. – All the mothers we interviewed were very satisfied with the PND group and considered their experience as “very positive”. They felt that the group therapy helped free them of their guilt, to resocialize and to improve their self-image (renarcissization). The results show that talking with their husbands improved the couple’s relationship, which is an important part of the process. Group therapy enabled patients to speak about their feelings in a space where they feel safe and supported.
Conclusion. – We are aware that this study is based on a limited number of women and that some interviews were conducted several years after their participation in the PND group, but the results are so encouraging that we think this method should be broadened.
Keywords: Postnatal depression; Postpartum; Group therapy; Perinatology; Qualitative Study