Why fathers matter in psychotherapy (Part 1)

There's a lot of focus on the role of the mother and primary caregivers in the theories and academic literature that go into Psychotherapy, BUT I've made it my personal mission to throw more light on how important the role of the father and secondary caregiver is, too.

I really believe it is time for more balance and a refocus. We all get to benefit from this and it seems the more I look the more I find. There is real evidence of just how big and rich the fathering role can be.

Lacan was a french psychoanalyst whose concepts were almost impossible to understand. Luckily there are other academics who have since made sense of his main idea relating to the symbolic role a father can play (nom de père). When you boil it down, here is what a father's role looks like according to Lacan

🦋A father is a symbol of the world outside of the mother-child relationship
🦋They offer a child a refreshing alternative perspective to that offered by the mum
🦋They give the child a first experience of what its like to be part of a group (called triangulation)
🦋They give the child a sense of variety and demonstrate how difference is ok

As a result the gains as an adult are massive. They can look like this..

An adult who can:
🌊 Form bods with groups as well as individuals
🌊 Have relationships with others who are/feel/believe differently than you
🌊 Build connections that are interdependent rather than co-dependent

There is so much potential here.