The research I conduct is heavily informed by my clinical practice experience with mothers. I utilize qualitative methods to study topics at the intersection of relational psychoanalytic theory, sociocultural concepts of mothering, infant-parent relations, intergenerational relational wounding, intersectional feminism, and care ethics. 

My work seeks to improve how we as social work practitioners and scholars, as well as members of society, think of and care for mothers. It is my mission to challenge dominant social discourse on parenting and family, expand perinatal mental health systems and clinical practice standards, and redefine social policy on maternal and infant well-being in support of improved provision of social services to mothers. 

Cardillo, I.R. (2025, June). In search of rhythmic mothering. [Oral Presentation]. International Association for Maternal Action and Scholarship (IAMAS) Annual Conference, Boston, MA.

Abstract: This presentation explores the psychological and sociocultural dimensions of motherhood, focusing on the concept of “rhythmic mothering” as an alternative to the intensive, overburdened maternal ideal. Drawing on intersubjectivity theory, Jessica Benjamin’s work on asymmetrical accommodation, André Green’s “Dead Mother Complex,” and feminist psychoanalytic perspectives on gender reproduction, it traces how cultural narratives and neoliberal ideologies shape maternal subjectivity, perpetuate generational deadness, and impair relational vitality. The work calls for a paradigmatic reorientation in our understanding of relatedness to restore maternal well-being through mutual recognition and the cultivation of aliveness.

Bryn Mawr College Graduate School for Social Work and Social Research

• Adjust Professor

• Teaching Assistant

• Academic Advisor

Areas of focus: Psychoanalytic Theory, Assessment & Psychopathology, Research Methods

• American Psychological Association

• Division 39

• Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia

• Oregon Psychoanalytic Center