INCEST RESOLUTION THERAPY AND THE OBJECTIFICATION OF SEXUAL ABUSE

This paper critiques current literature and clinical practices in the area of incest resolution therapy from a feminist psychoanalytic perspective. Incest resolution therapy risks over-objectifying incest in that the incest becomes the unifying event around which the patient's symptomatology and difficulties are organized. Pitfalls include overreliance on catharsis, neglect of specific developmental and object-relational factors, and countertransference reactions based on overidentification with the survivor. The sociopolitical context of incest resolution therapy is also explored.