A comprehensive guide to the dynamics of incest and to therapy for survivors.

This timely book provides for the therapist working with cases of intrafamily child sexual abuse both a theoretical background and practical information for the treatment of incest and gives new insight into the complex problems associated with incest. With the enactment of more stringent child abuse reporting laws nationwide and increased public education about the problem, there has been a dramatic increase in the need for incest-related psychotherapy. Treating Incest is an important source of information about the assessment and treatment of the family that will enable clinicians to provide appropriate crisis intervention for families and make informed judgments about referrals, if necessary. The book’s central theme is that effective treatment of incest requires a systemic approach because incestuous activity is the product of a problematic family, rather than the cause. The book is divided into two helpful sections: assessment issues and treatment issues and techniques.

Systemic Treatment of Incest is the first book to take as its primary focus the treatment of incest families. The authors, who have spent a total of 25 years working with incest families, believe that therapy can succeed in halting the abuse without dissolving the family unit. The volume’s three sections are based on the authors’ three stages of therapy: creating a context for change; challenging behaviors, expanding alternatives; and consolidation. First published in 1990. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This timely book provides for the therapist working with cases of intrafamily child sexual abuse both a theoretical background and practical information for the treatment of incest and gives new insight into the complex problems associated with incest. With the enactment of more stringent child abuse reporting laws nationwide and increased public education about the problem, there has been a dramatic increase in the need for incest-related psychotherapy. Treating Incest is an important source of information about the assessment and treatment of the family that will enable clinicians to provide appropriate crisis intervention for families and make informed judgments about referrals, if necessary. The book’s central theme is that effective treatment of incest requires a systemic approach because incestuous activity is the product of a problematic family, rather than the cause. The book is divided into two helpful sections: assessment issues and treatment issues and techniques.

Understanding and treating adult victims of incest. “Highly recommended as an authoritative text on incest and its treatment” and “essential reading for all therapists,” Healing the Incest Wound was a groundbreaking book that put incest studies and treatment on the map. Now, almost 20 years later, this bestselling text is fully updated, offering the most current studies and findings on incest typologies, dynamics, and treatment strategies. Drawing on cutting-edge research on incest and other forms of child abuse, it includes attention to their neurological, attachment, affective, and dissociative sequelae. Courtois—a veteran practitioner and an expert in complex traumatic stress disorders resulting from chronic child abuse—presents a comprehensive revision to this classic treatment manual for therapists.

Karin C. Meiselman presents a new therapeutic approach that enables therapists to recognize, understand, and treat the special needs and problems of incest survivors, ranging from panic attacks and sexual difficulties to chronic depression and destructive relationships. The author explains why effective therapy with incest survivors requires a nurturing therapeutic relationship--and she shows how to develop that relationship and give the ongoing reassurance that victims need in dealing with trauma, overcoming loss and grief, and in taking control of their lives.

This book builds upon a foundation of research literature on incest victims and their families as well as the author's own clinical experience to provide a conceptual framework for intervention and treatment of the non-offending mother. Amply illustrated with case examples, the author, Virginia C. Strand, outlines a treatment model and gives suggestions for specific treatment strategies. Particular emphasis is paid to the context of the mother's situation, and how such factors as social class, ethnicity, age, and education must be taken into consideration when treating these clients. In addition, Strand provides helpful guidance to the therapist whose client must deal with the multiplicity of systems that are involved with intervention, investigation, and prosecution of child abuse cases. This book is a much needed guide for therapists, case workers, and other service providers who work with both the children who are incest victims, as well as their families.