Working With Adult Incest Survivors

Book excerpt: Drawing on their extensive experience, the authors present an approach to the treatment of the adult incest survivor. This combines cognitive- behavioural, psychodynamic, and family treatment perspectives to encompass the full breadth and scope of the healing and recovery process. While acknowledging the need for the survivor to become conscious of the incestuous experience and its impact, the authors view memory retrieval as only the first step in healing; the ultimate goal is letting go of the past to actively reinvent the present. The book presents specific guidelines for the initial, middle and end phases of the therapy, for family-of-origin therapy, and for treatment of the male incest survivor.