Support Groups and Victims of Incest

Sexual abuse of children by family members continues to come to the attention of mental health professionals as does the exploration for the most appropriate treatment of incest. This paper investigates the question as to whether support groups may offer the most effective modality for treatment of incest victims. An introduction to the problem, characteristics of support group treatment of incest victims, the group process, outcomes of support group treatment of incest victims, and conclusions will be included in this presentation.

Knight (1997) defines sexual abuse and/or incest as referring to sexual contact that takes place between a child and an individual that is in a position of power or authority, not restricted to a family member. Thus a critical part of the relationship which leads to abuse is the child's powerlessness relative to the offender. The perpetrator is usually defined as the child's caretaker, which ranges from parent to babysitter. The abuse includes a range of sexual activities to include fondling, masturbation, exposure to pornography, oral sex, and vaginal and anal intercourse.

Symptoms and needs of the incest survivor are well documented. Adult female incest survivors are vulnerable with feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem, lack of trust, and tendencies for interpersonal and intrapersonal difficulties. They tend to distance themsel

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s concluded that since victims tend to seek medical attention more than support, they are not receiving the attention that is needed to overcome the assault. This conclusion can be applied to the incest victim who requires the social support found in a group treatment situation, to overcome effects of this sexual assault. Family treatment offers another form of group treatment for incest victims. Barrett, Trepper, and Fish (1990) pointed out however, that family treatment of incest has been criticized. For example, feminists state that treating incest within the family systems theory, ignores the societal impact and the effects of incest on members of the family. Intra-family sexual abuse continues to be a concern and optimal treatment remains a topic of discussion. Feminists point out that all types of psychotherapy may be potentially harmful to the incest victim since incestuous acts are rarely spoken of and the validity of these thoughts is questioned. Feminists state that family therapy, while having the potential to offer support, may lose sight of the power and effects of the incestuous act and tend to ignore the literature on abuse of women and children in general. Family therapy may also tend to place the blame on
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3570
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page)

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