Hope and Cure by Margolis, Marvin; Dietrich, David;

Long description:

Some analysts feel daunted or pessimistic when working with a patient who recounts an experience of parent/child incest. Can psychoanalysis succeed as a treatment for individuals who suffered this heinous abuse in their formative years?

The answer is a definitive yes, according to David Dietrich and Marvin Margolis, who assemble the detailed case studies of leading analysts in the area of incest treatment. Each case is a qualitative report of psychoanalytic research that focuses on the treatment as a whole, not merely one or two aspects of it. However, what is perhaps the most important element of these studies is the rich post-analytic follow-up material that the contributors have obtained, which provides insights into the lives of the patients in the years subsequent to their treatment and hence the efficacy of the treatments themselves. Taking these case studies individually or altogether, we are able to learn the strengths and limitations of treating these patients analytically, what kinds of unique problems and challenges we face employing analytic therapy with them, and what positive, life-altering effects we can hope to facilitate for them.

Table of Contents:

Dietrich, Margolis, Emerging Controversies in the Psychoanalytic Treatment of Men and Women Who Experienced Parent-child Incest. McCarthy, "They'll Never Believe Me": Core Issues for Incest Survivors. Twemlow, Gabbard, The Role of Mother-son Incest in the Pathogenesis of a Case of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Hadge, An Unusual Case of Incest Between a Mother and Daughter, Dietrich, The Tortured Analysand: Reflections on Incest, Soul Murder, Mourning, and Termination. Silber, Some Life-Long Sequelae of Early Mother-Son Incest. Margolis, An Unusual Case of Consummated Mother-Son Incest. Rudominer, Mother-Son Incest: An Analytic Case Study. Margolis, Dietrich, Epilogue: Concluding Reflections.