Incestuous Abuse Continuing into Adulthood: Clinical Features and Therapists’ Conceptualisations

“Holding the badness”: Therapists’ experiences of treating incestuous abuse continuing into adulthood.

“…Qualitative approaches also allow an open, flexible exploration of a topic about which little is known (Mohajan, 2018). The present study was part of a larger project investigating this clinical phenomena, and further details of the about clinical presentations and therapists’ case conceptualizations are presented in another article (McMaugh et al, 2024).…”

“…However, in recent decades, there have been sporadic media and clinical reports of incestuous abuse continuing from childhood into adulthood. Evidence suggests that clients experiencing such abuse have high levels of physical and psychiatric comorbidity and socioeconomic disadvantage, lengthy abuse, and a high number of abuse incidents, with abuse noted to continue for decades and sometimes well into the victim’s middle age (McMaugh et al, 2024; Middleton, 2013b, 2022). Additionally, this cohort commonly reports violence by extrafamilial offenders in both childhood and adulthood (McMaugh et al, 2024; Middleton, 2013a, 2013b).…”

“…Evidence suggests that clients experiencing such abuse have high levels of physical and psychiatric comorbidity and socioeconomic disadvantage, lengthy abuse, and a high number of abuse incidents, with abuse noted to continue for decades and sometimes well into the victim’s middle age (McMaugh et al, 2024; Middleton, 2013b, 2022). Additionally, this cohort commonly reports violence by extrafamilial offenders in both childhood and adulthood (McMaugh et al, 2024; Middleton, 2013a, 2013b). These clients typically present with complex dissociative disorders, and many are at high risk of suicide, have medical conditions related to their abuse, and have disorganized attachment to violent perpetrators.…”

“…These clients typically present with complex dissociative disorders, and many are at high risk of suicide, have medical conditions related to their abuse, and have disorganized attachment to violent perpetrators. Additionally, they frequently experience ongoing incestuous abuse during the time of engaging in therapy (McMaugh et al, 2024; Middleton, 2022; Sachs, 2017).…”