The Relational Trauma of Incest

This extraordinary book is a 'must read' for anyone who works with children and their families. In lively, clear, and highly readable prose, Sheinberg and Fraenkel provide a new model for a much needed integration of the child and family therapy modalities. Though they are working with the most complex and challenging cases--intrafamily child abuse--their methods and thinking are applicable to virtually all symptomatic and emotionally troubled children. The book is filled with a plethora of practical and highly creative methods for mobilizing the strengths of families and children and helping youngsters develop a more positive sense of self. It is a book you will find yourself referring to again and again. --Ellen F. Wachtel, JD, PhD, author of Treating Troubled Children and Their Families

Sheinberg and Fraenkel have produced a landmark volume that is clinically profound, morally complex, and organizationally elegant. It is a measure of their mastery that one feels deeply, not only for these preyed-upon children and their torn-apart mothers, but also for the offenders who must come to terms with what they have wrought. I know this work well, yet I am always moved and freshly educated by it. This book will become an instant classic for clinicians, researchers, activists, and policymakers. --Virginia Goldner, PhD, editor, Studies in Gender and Sexuality, Senior Faculty, Ackerman Institute for the Family

This wonderful book, so rich in innovative concepts and clinical techniques, brings a totally novel perspective to one of our most challenging clinical problems. It is hard to resist the temptation to reduce this highly emotional issue to simple black-and-white terms of children who need to be protected and adults who need to be punished. Sheinberg and Fraenkel counsel us instead to view childhood sexual abuse first and foremost as a family drama, to allow ourselves to listen to everyone's story and perspective in as nonjudgmental a way as possible, and to help families find a pathway through this crisis that provides not only a safe haven for the children involved, but also a sense of dignity for the family as a whole. A triumph of thoughtfulness and wisdom over emotionalism and polemics, this book is a gift to our field and, by extension, to every family who has had to struggle with this issue in their lives. --Peter Steinglass, MD, Executive Director, Ackerman Institute for the Family; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Cornell University Medical College

The high prevalence of sexual abuse of children in families is now generally recognized. But what can be done to address the aftermath of incest, once it has been detected? This significant book brings into focus the relational trauma of sexual abuse, foregrounding the complexities that regularly confront family members and professionals. The many associated treatment dilemmas are acknowledged, and numerous maps are provided for resolving them. Including clearly illustrated, richly told accounts of effective clinical work, this book succeeds in expanding the range of compassionate options available to therapists and child protection workers. It is simply not to be missed. --Michael White, BASW, Dulwich Centre, Australia

As I read this terrific book, I was continuously reminded that the impact of sexual abuse is affected by both the reality and the perception of family relationships, that the entire family bears the burden of incest, and that rebuilding family relationships is the best path for healing and recovery. Sheinberg and Fraenkel are to be congratulated for their noteworthy contribution to the child sexual abuse literature. The reader will find a wealth of insights and practical suggestions that will be helpful in everyday clinical practice. --Anthony Mannarino, PhD, Director, Center for Traumatic Stress in Children and Adolescents, Allegheny General Hospital
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