Treating The Adult Survivor Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Psychoanalytic Perspective [Hardcover]

Jody Messler Davies (Author), Mary Gail Frawley (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 046506633X | ISBN-13: 978-0465066339 | Publication Date: March 21, 1994 | Edition: 1

Entering the tumultuous, dissociated world of the adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse presents an intimidating challenge for clinicians. But as the authors of this innovative book argue, therapists must be willing and able to work within the powerful and rapidly shifting relational paradigms of transference and countertransference commonly found in treatment of these patients. Such dual roles enacted in treatment include the unseeing, uninvolved parent and the unseen, neglected child; the sadistic abuser and the helpless, enraged victim; the idealized rescuer and the entitled child; and the seducer and the seduced.This is the first model for treatment of adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse that takes advantage of a relational approach and that integrates psychoanalytic thinking with the latest findings from the literature on psychological trauma and sexual abuse. Diverging from a more classical perspective, the authors view dissociation as the means by which a person adapts to and expresses traumatogenic material and by which such patients defend against traumatic memories, affects, and fantasy elaborations emerging into consciousness. The authors also detail how dissociation helps organize the patient's personality and presentation of self.Richly illustrated case examples bring to life the authors’ treatment model and show how clinicians can work through the relational paradigms between patient and therapist and, ultimately, reach the core of the patient’s deeply buried experiences of self and other.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jody Messler Davies, Ph.D., is a faculty member and clinical supervisor at the Derner Institute, Adelphi University, and at Columbia University’s Teachers College. She is also a clinical supervisor at the Center for the Study of Abuse and Incest, Manhattan Institute of Psychoanalysis, and a faculty member at the National Institute for the Psychotherapies. Mary Gail Frawley, Ph.D., is adjunct clinical professor at the Derner Institute, Adelphi University, and at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1 edition (March 21, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 046506633X
• ISBN-13: 978-0465066339
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #99 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Compulsive Behavior

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make room on your bookshelf for this, August 1, 2000

By 

C. Fleming "selkhet7" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Treating The Adult Survivor Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Psychoanalytic Perspective (Hardcover)

As a therapist who works with survivors of childhood sexual abuse, I am always searching for books which provide new perspectives and formulations on the topic of sexual abuse. The book by Jody Messler Davies & Mary Gail Frawley provided a cogent argument for the importance of a psychoanalytically informed framework in treating adult survivors. The authors do an excellent analysis of the bodies of literature from the fields of psychoanalytic thought and trauma based research/therapy. The reader is then shown perhaps previously unnoticed connections between the two bodies of literature. There are numerous case examples throughout the book to illustrate the various concepts that are discussed.

I gave this book five stars, because any book which causes an individual to reexamine their theoretical orientation/mode of conducting therapy, should definitely be sitting on their bookshelf at home.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best book on subject, February 2, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Treating The Adult Survivor Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Psychoanalytic Perspective (Hardcover)

Although this book is written for therapists and analysts -- not their clients -- I found it invaluable. Reading it as an accompaniment to my ongoing therapy helped me to listen better to myself and to my therapist, and to understand the many obscure and puzzling episodes and interactions that were taking place during sessions and outside of them. The authors are clearly experts in their field. Their book contextualized and provided insight into both my own history of childhood sexual abuse and the twists and turns of the therapeutic process in general. Despite its sometimes highly technical language for which I had to consult a dictionary, this book is the most focused and helpful work on the subject that I have read. I'm very grateful to its authors for writing it and recommend it without reservation.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very helpful for someone who is in therapy!, March 2, 2008

By 

V. Rush (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Treating The Adult Survivor Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Psychoanalytic Perspective (Hardcover)

I am currently in therapy and this book has been a God send! It has made my experiences in therapy much more meaningful. Also has made my therapy process easier to handle during all those difficult times. Great book to have if you're currently going through your own CSA therapy!