The Prenatal Theme in Psychotherapy

Over the course of the last fifty years, research has shown that the ability of the fetus 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 Ployé summarizes previous work on the significance of prenatal behavior 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. Ployé’s text reveals a continuity of experience from prenatal stages to adulthood and will appeal to all psychotherapists interested in the development of human behavior from conception onwards and the implications of this for the concept of the self.

Over the course of the last fifty years, research has shown that the ability of the fetus 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 Ployé summarizes previous work on the significance of prenatal behavior 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. Ployé’s text reveals a continuity of experience from prenatal stages to adulthood and will appeal to all psychotherapists interested in the development of human behavior from conception onwards and the implications of this for the concept of the self.

Phillippe Ployé (1916-2005) was educated at the French Lycées of Toulon and Cherbourg. His main psychotherapy experience was acquired at Cassel Hospital (1948-1981) and also at Youth Custody Centre, Feltham (1988-1997). He has previously published various papers in journals.