Treating Incest: A Multiple Systems Perspective

by Terry S. Trepper, Mary Jo Barrett

This timely book provides for the therapist working with cases of intrafamily child sexual abuse both a theoretical background and practical information for the treatment of incest and gives new insight into the complex problems associated with incest. With the enactment of more stringent child abuse reporting laws nationwide and increased public education about the problem, there has been a dramatic increase in the need for incest-related psychotherapy. Treating Incest is an important source of information about the assessment and treatment of the family that will enable clinicians to provide appropriate crisis intervention for families and make informed judgments about referrals, if necessary. The book's central theme is that effective treatment of incest requires a systemic approach because incestuous activity is the product of a problematic family, rather than the cause. The book is divided into two helpful sections: assessment issues and treatment issues and techniques.

126 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Terry S. Trepper, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized scholar, educator, and researcher, winning numerous awards and honors in each of these domains. He has been a professor at Purdue University Northwest since 1981 and prior to that worked in community mental health as a family psychologist. Terry’s scholarly and training interests include the evidence-basis of solution-focused therapy, systemic and solution-focused approaches to treating substance abuse, and positive psychology.

Trepper is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Purdue University Northwest and for the past 26 years has been the Editor of the Journal of Family Psychotherapy. Terry is the co-editor of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: A Handbook of Evidence-Based Practice (with Cynthia Franklin, Wallace Gingerich, and Eric McCollum) Oxford University Press; co-author of More than Miracles: The State of the Art in Solution-Focused Therapy (with Steve de Shazer, Yvonne Dolan, Harry Korman, Eric McCollum, and Insoo Berg); co-author (with Mary Jo Barrett) of Systemic Treatment of Incest: A Therapeutic Handbook, published by Brunner/Routledge; Treating Incest: A Multiple Systems Perspective, published by Haworth Press; 101 Interventions in Family Therapy (with Thorana Nelson), published by Haworth Press, 1993, 101 MoreInterventions in Family Therapy (1995); and Family Solutions for Substance Abuse (with Eric McCollum) published by Haworth Press, 2001.