The first book of its kind, Parenting Psychoanalysed: Letters to a Parent collates the musings of a thoughtful group of psychoanalysts with a series of candid letters, each addressing the aspect of parenthood they most want to share and what they wish they knew before becoming a parent.

Written in the simplest of terms, each contributor shares a letter that reflects both personally and professionally on parenthood, sharing their feelings, insights and psychoanalytic reflections with the parent-reader. Drawing on their deep understanding of the mind and the personal work done on themselves, each writer digests what it really means to be a parent, what they didn’t expect when they were expecting, the pleasures and anxieties of parenting, the ordinary ambiguities and ambivalence evoked by their children at various life stages, as well as many other gems that no other parenting books are talking about. This international collection begins an important conversation with mothers, fathers and caregivers; encouraging them to consider how their inner worlds, worries and wishes matter deeply and hold important clues about how to parent in an open and authentic way. Each letter shows how understanding this dynamic is key to raising a healthy, balanced family and living more freely.

This thought-provoking book connects parents through personal stories and profound psychoanalytic insights, and is an essential read for every mother, father and caregiver.

Andy Cohen is a psychotherapist and candidate psychoanalyst with the South African Psychoanalytical Association (SAPA). Andy is passionate about making psychoanalytic thinking more accessible, seen in her TEDx Talk - A Mom Can’t Always Act Like a Grown-Up - Here’s Why, which explores the unconscious forces between parent and child. She holds an MA Fine Art and is also trained as a community art counsellor at Lefika La Phodiso, an NGO providing art-based psychodynamic mental health services to at-risk communities. She currently lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa.