Object Relations in Severe Trauma: Psychotherapy of the Sexually Abused Child

Building upon the theoretical work of Ferenczi, Fairbairn, and Berliner, the author describes four basic relational patterns in the lives of abused children: the reliving of abusive relationships, either as victim or as perpetrator; identification with the aggressor; masochistic self-blame; and the seeking of object contact though sex or violence. The interweaving of these patterns creates what Dr. Prior calls "relational dilemmas." According to him, these four basic relational patterns are held in place by the child's profound fear of falling into primitive states of unrelatedness and consequent annihilation anxiety. For example, the abused child believes that victimization by or identification with the bad object, no matter how horrible that may be, is preferable to the psychic disintegration that complete nonrelatedness creates. Dilemmas of this nature tear apart the child's psyche, leading to unstable and tormented models of self, other, and relationship. Object Relations in Severe Trauma provides sensitive understanding of childhood traumatization and a conceptual and technical framework for the treatment of patients—both children and adults—who have suffered from it.

About the Author :
Stephen Prior holds doctorates in both philosophy and psychology. After receiving his degree in psychology, he worked extensively with seriously disturbed children. Currently he is in private practice with adults and children in the greater Boston area.

Review :
Object Relations in Severe Trauma provides the unusual amalgamation of solid scholarship, sound theoretical development, and detailed case examples of treatment of the seriously disturbed and traumatized child. Drawing from both his psychotherapeutic treatment of seriously disturbed boys who suffered multiple forms of neglect and abuse and from the work of Fairbain, Berliner, and Ekstein, Prior delineates an object relational theory of the consequences of the sexual traumatization of children that has implications for therapy. Students and practitioners will benefit from the illustrations of the psychological response to trauma in terms of the repetition of abusive patterns of relationship, identification with the aggressor, self-blame, and the seeking of object contact through sexuality or violence. This is probably one of the most valuable books for clinicians who provide therapy to sexually abused children from multi-problem families.