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Disclosure of father-child sexual abuse: Dilemmas for families and therapists

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Abstract

Following disclosure of father-child sexual abuse, family members are faced with significant dilemmas related to the abuse disclosure and to the future of familial relationships. The resolution of these dilemmas has an impact on the resulting family structure as well as the therapist's stance, the therapeutic process, and therapeutic goals. This paper presents clinical issues that arise in relation to father/perpetrator and mother responses to the dilemmas they face following their child's disclosure of abuse. Clinical case examples are used to illustrate several resolutions that families reach following disclosure of abuse. The cases illustrate the systemic functioning of families and the impact that family members' decisions have on the therapeutic process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, 171 Ashley Avenue, 29425-0742, Charleston, SC

    Julie A. Lipovsky PhD (Assistant professor and the director of training at the Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center)

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  1. Julie A. Lipovsky PhD
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Additional information

This paper was sponsored in part by a grant from the U. S. Department of the Navy. Names of clients were changed by the author to protect their identities.

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Lipovsky, J.A. Disclosure of father-child sexual abuse: Dilemmas for families and therapists. Contemp Fam Ther 13, 85–101 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00890869

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