A Psychotherapist Struggles with New Motherhood with Andy Cohen (Johannesburg)

The Mind, Body and Soul in Healing

"Buried inside of us are all these layers and layers of selves, like a Russian nesting doll, and the baby self fits inside all the different ages of you. In my experience of being in this kind of therapy I was starting to get to know all the unresolved thoughts and conflicts and ideas that were still sort of buried in me but hadn’t had an opportunity or the need at the time to have their say."

Episode Description: We discuss Andy's early experience of pregnancy and the unsettled feelings that she first noticed at that time. After the premature birth of her daughter, she became hyper-focused on her milestones and confused her child's progress with her own self-esteem, to the detriment of both. Over time she began observing that her own inner experiences were less related to her daughter but rather were connected to her own childhood situations. This freed her to get to know her child as the separate person that she was. She gives examples of occasionally having ambivalent feelings towards her child and treasuring having the opportunity to speak of them in her personal therapy. She is devoted to publicizing the availability of such therapy for those whose lives can be enriched as hers has been.

Our Guest: Andy Cohen is a Psychoanalyst-in-training and TEDx speaker with a background in art and counseling. Andy is deeply interested in personal development through psychoanalytic treatment and works with individuals, groups, and corporations in Johannesburg, South Africa. Her recent TEDx Talk "A Mom Can't Always Act Like a Grown-up – Here's Why" explored the unconscious forces that operate between mother and child and it is currently being translated into 8 languages. She has written and illustrated a children's book about loss called Wish You Were Here – A Book About Missing Someone. Andy also writes extensively for parenting portals making therapeutic concepts more accessible in order to help families live fuller, more integrated lives. For more information visit: www.andy-cohen.biz & Instagram: @_andy_cohen_