Trust And Betrayal in the Treatment of Child Abuse [Hardcover]

Laurie Mackinnon (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1572302984 | ISBN-13: 978-1572302983 | Publication Date: January 23, 1998 | Edition: 1

Therapists working with child abuse in public agencies walk a particularly fine line. Positioned between the family and the larger welfare system, as well as between parent and child, therapists must maintain the trust of conflicting parties while dealing with the myriad frustrations this situation entails. This insightful volume examines the paradoxes of child-at-risk work and illuminates the social context in which it is set. Amply illustrated with case examples and interviews with parents, the book reveals the ways that families perceive therapists and the reasons behind what is often described as "resistance" to intervention. Therapists gain an understanding of the layers of trust and betrayal that pervade the experience of abusive families in the welfare setting, and learn how to acknowledge this experience and apply it toward positive change.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"MacKinnon's book draws clear lines between the high table of her ideas and the kitchen table of her practice. The examples and anecdotes that illustrate her procedural building blocks are logical and set forth in lucid, intelligent prose. As a result, the book is both fascinating and enjoyable to read. This is a book of originality, skill, and daring, possessing exceptional synthetic power. After ceaseless wrangles among family therapists, feminists, child protection authorities, and trauma experts, and in spite of the enduring conflict between the aims of therapy and social control, MacKinnon has come up with a framework that deals respectfully and elegantly with all these agendas. My prediction is that her book will become a bible in the field. It will also form a table around which warring therapeutic clans, as well as families caught in the middle, can gather to make their peace." --Lynn Hoffman, ACSW, Adjunct Lecturer, Smith School of Social Work

"MacKinnon provides a compelling analysis of what makes child-at-risk cases so difficult for therapists, child protection workers, and families. Drawing on her own research, she elucidates the experiences of parents who become caught in a system they feel to be oppressive and punitive. But it need not be so: MacKinnon's extensive clinical experience, and her appreciation of issues of class, gender, and power, are the bases for a detailed account of an alternative approach founded on trust--which counters oppression without itself being oppressive. This important book charts a new path for therapists working in this difficult field." --John Carpenter, CPsychol, Director, Centre for Applied Social Studies, University of Durham, UK, Co-editor, Journal of Family Therapy

"Laurie MacKinnon's deeply thoughtful and helpful book on the family treatment of children at risk is in the best tradition of family therapy.... Everyone who does this work needs brave and detailed books like this--books that in their thick description walk the walk, providing expert guidance, reassurance, and innovative technical suggestions that mobilize agency and create space for dialogue between all the parties." --From the Foreword by Virginia Goldner, PhD, Co-Director, Gender and Violence Project, Ackerman Institute for the Family

About the Author

Laurie K. MacKinnon, PhD, is a family therapist in private practice as the Director of Insite Therapy and Consulting in Sydney, Australia. Since 1985, she has lectured in family therapy and provided supervision and training to a number of Australian organizations. Originally from Calgary, Canada, where she received her masters in social work and began her training and practice in family therapy, she received her doctorate from the University of Sydney, Australia. She is an Approved Supervisor of the American Association of Marital and Family Therapy and has published a number of articles relating to theory and clinical practice.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 260 pages
• Publisher: Guilford Press; 1 edition (January 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572302984
• ISBN-13: 978-1572302983
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,315,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable resource for family therapists., October 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Trust And Betrayal in the Treatment of Child Abuse (Paperback)

Trust and Betrayal in the Treatment of Child Abuse is a rich and profound examination of an area of thought and work fraught with complexity. MacKinnon maps a clear path through the dilemmas of child abuse, combining a depth of theoretical approach with clear practice guidelines. What is so appealing about MacKinnon's writing is its clarity and accessibility in the midst of a gritty analysis of socio-political discourses. Her ideas are conceptually satisfying and include constant reference to case examples that are helpful illustrations of the theoretical ideas explored.

Trust and Betrayal provides a framework to examine the many difficulties emerging when dealing with issues of child abuse. MacKinnon presents thoughtful solutions to inherent systemic problems that inevitably result when attempts at social control and therapeutic gain intersect. It is at the point of intersection of a number of different discourses, especially the discourses within family therapy and child protection that this book offers a more complex understanding of the position of the individual, the family and the wider system. For those working with families, the book challenges us to a depth of understanding of our clients, which involves a consideration of gendered, powered relationships and ideas of class. MacKinnon places the client's subjectivity within those discourses showing how it develops out of the particular underlying premises and beliefs within a family.

The first part of the book deals with "Child Abuse in Context". There is no simplistic analysis here. Clinical problems are explored in combination with an understanding of various contexts which families bring to therapy. These include the context in which families are referred, in which they live their lives, and the context in which premises and beliefs held by the family and by child protection workers continue to exist unchallenged.

The chapter on the "Genealogy of Relationships" is worth particular mention. Here MacKinnon introduces a new discourse around child abuse that in our opinion creates a space for therapeutic change without minimising the seriousness of abuse. There are some fascinating ideas here suggesting a new conceptualisation of relationships involving the "dominant account" of family relationships and the importance of eliciting the "hidden account". This genealogical approach "seeks and allows for each person's account of relationships. It can be a guide to how therapists can approach the story of abuse from family members and effect a change in underlying network premises held by family members" (P.97).

The last half of the book is essential reading for therapists working with families who have become intertwined with the Child Protection Department. The approach outlined is based on years of research and a therapy project undertaken by the author. The crux of the approach is that it effectively engages families and gives them a different experience of working with professionals.

MacKinnon's feminist-informed approach is radically different from a position that assumes, even before therapy begins, that it is not useful to work with perpetrators. She creates a space for the therapist to be positioned which may allow for the parent who abuses to work towards safe contact with the family/child. She argues that the task of the therapist is to sit in the space that names abuse as abuse. Whilst holding the abusing parent accountable, the therapist works to negotiate a safe way for relationships in the family to continue. She describes the therapist's role as that of a "power broker". What stands out in this approach is a deep respect for all family members and their significant relationships within a context of accountability.

The account of "the working class" in Chapter 4 is perhaps more homogeneous than we would expect. We think other accounts exist which are not included here. We are also left wondering why MacKinnon does not explore the issues that exist for therapists in dealing with child abuse, when the most therapeutic position may be to decide not to continue with, or even start therapy.

What we do not doubt is that MacKinnon brings to her writing an ability to see the world through her wealth of experience as a therapist, supervisor and consultant. Her work is respectful and compassionate, including the voice of each party in the web surrounding child abuse, with a rich interweaving of comments from parents and workers who have entrusted her with their opinions.

Trust and Betrayal brings a refreshing breath to a discourse that does not usually self-reflect, namely the discourse around relationships between clients of the Child Protection Department, the Departmental workers themselves, and therapists. It is valuable reading not just for family therapists but for those entering the field of child protection and those working with families and individuals where there have been allegations of abuse.