I believe "cadre contenant" is related to Bion's notion of containment and Winnicott's "holding environment.

For example, see the following presentation: http://socialcareireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Re-em...

Here's the American Psychiatric Glossary definition of "holding environment," from http://www.webref.org/psychology/h/holding_environment.htm :

"A responsive, nurturing milieu for the developing child, including physical holding as well as the mother's or primary caregiver's preoccupation with the child and her ability to soothe, comfort, and reduce the tension in her infant. Ideally, the mother reflects back the child's worth and value and in other ways responds appropriately to his or her needs. Lack of such responsivity is often termed empathic failure. In the psychotherapeutic (see psychotherapy) relationship, holding environment refers to a therapeutic ambiance or setting that permits the patient to experience safety, thereby facilitating psychotherapeutic work."

Here are some additional examples of the term in use: https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q="holding environment"

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Note added at 9 hrs (2012-11-16 08:33:05 GMT)
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Just to clarify, "holding environment" is a technical term that characterizes many different aspects of the mother's or primary caregiver's care for and relation to a child. It is in no way limited to any physical act but instead describes "a responsive, nurturing milieu," as stated in the definition above. It also is used to describe the therapeutic or treatment setting.

As discussed in the PPT to which I linked, the term "holding environment" includes the notions of shelter, containment, and predictability. For example, slide 8 of that presentation reads:
"The notion of holding is central to effective care giving relationships
Holding environments:
• Create reliably safe boundaries
• Offer a protective space
• Enable children to experience themselves as valued and secure
• Is [sic] associated with a secure base (Kahn, 2005)"

Now, the term "cadre contenant" is also a technical term that refers both to the nature of the relationship between a mother or a primary caregiver and a child AND the therapeutic or treatment setting:

For the therapeutic setting (scroll to section D): http://apijb.pagesperso-orange.fr/Assises/07.html
It is also used to describe other environments or milieux, such as classrooms: http://www.aepi-formation-pedopsychiatrie.fr/Une-experience-... (see the section "Fonctionnement du groupe rééducatif")

And for the mother-child relation, here is one summary of the basis of the term "holding" in Winnicott that refers to the notion of contenance, from http://dcalin.fr/publications/fonction_contenante.html#1.a :
"Winnicott : le holding et le regard

Lorsque la mère contient l’enfant physiquement, par les soins corporels qu’elle lui donne, par sa proximité, ses caresses, par sa manière de le porter, elle délimite ainsi le corps de l’enfant, et lui permet de ressentir et d’intégrer les limites externes de son propre corps. De la même manière, sur le plan psychique, par une adaptation optimale de la mère au petit enfant et à ses besoins, par sa disponibilité, sa capacité d’apaisement, d’écoute et de retran­smission, elle permet à l’enfant de se sentir progressivement comme un ensemble d’éléments cohérents et contenus, et d’élaborer ainsi un moi. Un monde interne personnel, lui aussi contenant, peut être construit. Une peau psychique émerge ainsi, comparable à l’enveloppe corporelle."


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Note added at 11 hrs (2012-11-16 10:27:21 GMT)
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Another thought:

If the translator is concerned that "holding environment" sounds too technical, it would be possible to add an additional adjective, as follows:

Proposed translation:

Psychical suffering also can lead to depression or even to hospitalism when the mother or other caregiver is unresponsive or psychologically absent, when the child's crying goes unheard, or when the child's surroundings do not provide a nurturing, holding environment.