Everyday Motherhood: Challenging Maternal Perfectionism Through Psychotherapy

Yet our culture still perpetuates ‘super mum’ ideals, based on an outdated image of the white, cis-gendered, nuclear family-based mother figure, which contributes to feelings of inadequacy and shame. In this seminar, we will look at contemporary everyday mothering and ask how, as psychotherapists, can we effectively support many subjectivities of mothers today?  

Leading experts will discuss issues of intersectionality, including race, gender, sexuality and class, and highlight some of the conflicts marginalised populations face when embarking on motherhood. Mary Kay O’Neil will share insights from her recent book Mothering Alone, which is based on a pioneering programme enabling low-income mothers with little to no outside support to attend college or university. She will deconstruct Western societal attitudes to single mothers, explore characteristics central to effective mothering, and offer a psychodynamic understanding of single or solo mothers. Valerie Bryant will reflect on how Western ideals of mothering can be challenged through an African American perspective, which emphasises the role of multiple maternal attachment caregivers. Talia Molé will share research on how we can hold space for creative exchanges between members of the LGBTQ+ community, as a way to expand upon new notions of the mother figure. The speakers will also reflect on how an attuned therapeutic relationship may provide a re-parenting experience for mothers, which can break generational cycles of poor emotional communication, internal isolation and issues of attachment.  

You can expect a lively discussion, delivered through thought-provoking individual talks, followed by a panel discussion. You will leave with new ideas on how to think about and work with issues surrounding everyday motherhood today.