The crisis of unwed motherhood: A consultation approach

Abstract

Unwed motherhood, particularly for the teenager, constitutes a series of subcrises: confrontation with the pregnancy, exclusion from school, physical changes, social isolation and interpersonal conflict, delivery, and caring for an infant. This paper describes the role which a mental health consultant can take in regard to interagency programs, research, and education. Specific consultation interventions, within the framework of crisis theory, are discussed for helping caregivers enable teenagers to cope with these subcrises.