Abstract
Parent-infant psychotherapy (PIP) is a growing field in South Africa, with significant adaptations to suit the local context. Relational in nature, the therapist’s experiences are considered clinically informative. This qualitative research study set out to explore the experiences of psychologists working in this field, considering how therapists make sense of their subjectivity within their work and what these experiences reveal about PIP practice in South Africa. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six psychologists who have experience in PIP. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Reflexive Thematic Analysis was used to interpret the findings through a relational psychoanalytic framework. Three themes were identified. First, aspects of therapists’ identity shaped their sense of legitimacy, credibility, and belonging in the field, leading some to negotiate differences by naming it within the therapeutic encounter. Second, working in materially deprived community settings and demanding hospital contexts placed significant emotional demands on the therapists and exposed the limits of what therapists felt the frame could offer. Third, participants described tensions related to managing both the mother and infant within the therapeutic dyad. This study provides insight into these experiences across various settings, including home visiting programs, hospital settings, and baby mat interventions and how these settings shape therapists’ experiences of doing this work. It contributes to existing literature that considers how therapists’ positionality within the socio-historical context influences PIP in South Africa. The findings foreground how therapists’ subjectivity – including their positionality, emotional responses, and personal histories – were shown to shape the therapeutic encounter.