Episode 106 | GOOD ENOUGH MOTHERING with psychoanalyst Andy Cohen

The Great Equalizer

In a world with heightened expectations on parents to perform, is “good enough” mothering really a good thing?

On this episode of The Great Equalizer, we welcome Joburg-based psychoanalyst and mom of two Andy Cohen.

Andy talks us through parenting in the world’s current pressure cooker, giving us some insight into why people are suddenly so psychologically triggered when they become parents.

We chat about Andy’s new book, Parenting Psychoanalysed: Letters to a Parent, which includes letters from 39 analysts across the world, as well as a letter from Andy herself.

Leaning into the intersectionality of parenting and psychology, Andy tells us why she thinks parents were the world’s first psychoanalysts, also expanding on renowned paediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott’s theory of “good enough mothering”.

Watered down over the years through the filters of social media, this is a concept that seems to have been misconstrued. Winnicott’s theory, however, is a golden thread that weaves its way throughout Andy’s book.

And so, in this insightful episode of The Great Equalizer, we unpack why it’s so crucial for mothers and fathers not to strive for perfection in parenting.

Join the conversation and, as always, please let us know what you think of the episode 🫶🏼

🖤 LISTEN 💛 LIKE 🖤 SHARE 💛 SUBSCRIBE

__

#ParentingPodcast #Psychoanalysis #ConsciousParenting #ParentingJourney #MentalHealthAndParenting#ParentingSupport #FamilyWellbeing #ParentingInsights

__

Did you enjoy this episode? Then don’t miss a previous TGE interview with marriage and family therapist Bryana Kappadakunnel, founder of the Conscious Mommy community and author of Parent Yourself First (a book about raising confident, compassionate kids by becoming the parent you wish you’d had): https://youtu.be/0d176c86HSc?si=wYDVffQWiTuCppbQ