Well, as a retired psychiatrist I can confirm that there's a lot we don't know about the mind, but I'd also caution that we're in danger of moving towards an ad ignoratiam fallacy if we step from 'you never know' to 'and therefore it's the case'. Not that you're going down that route.
I can't say I dealt with abuse victims specifically in my many years of clinical practice, though there will have been abuse victims among my patients. There is, by the way, no credible evidence for repressed memory theory; on the contrary, trauma tends not to leave people alone.
I have a confession: the parents acted the way they did on my advice. They wanted to get the police and social services involved, and I was concerned that they would create harm where there was none. I'm therefore playing dumb in order to see whether people challenge my advice or support it.
Repressed memory DOES exist, although it's true that some therapists have created it in some people.
I didn't remember being sexually abused as a small child until I was in middle age, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen and didn't have long term effects I didn't understand until the memory surfaced
Honestly, I don't know what the "right" answer is. I doubt there is one. It's far too complicated. It's an awful thing to have happened, for both children.
To be honest, I think the right answer is that it wasn't an awful thing to have happened. I recognised that they would create trauma where there was none, which would mean they (collectively) would be abusing her. Hence my advice. They took my advice, and things have worked out fine. But it has sprung to mind a few times over the years.
IIN to treat abuse as trivial to avoid traumatizing the victim?
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Well, as a retired psychiatrist I can confirm that there's a lot we don't know about the mind, but I'd also caution that we're in danger of moving towards an ad ignoratiam fallacy if we step from 'you never know' to 'and therefore it's the case'. Not that you're going down that route.
I can't say I dealt with abuse victims specifically in my many years of clinical practice, though there will have been abuse victims among my patients. There is, by the way, no credible evidence for repressed memory theory; on the contrary, trauma tends not to leave people alone.
I have a confession: the parents acted the way they did on my advice. They wanted to get the police and social services involved, and I was concerned that they would create harm where there was none. I'm therefore playing dumb in order to see whether people challenge my advice or support it.
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Ellenna
6 years ago
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charli.m
6 years ago
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Repressed memory DOES exist, although it's true that some therapists have created it in some people.
I didn't remember being sexually abused as a small child until I was in middle age, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen and didn't have long term effects I didn't understand until the memory surfaced
Honestly, I don't know what the "right" answer is. I doubt there is one. It's far too complicated. It's an awful thing to have happened, for both children.
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Anonymous Post Author
6 years ago
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To be honest, I think the right answer is that it wasn't an awful thing to have happened. I recognised that they would create trauma where there was none, which would mean they (collectively) would be abusing her. Hence my advice. They took my advice, and things have worked out fine. But it has sprung to mind a few times over the years.
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Ellenna
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You don't know that things have "worked out fine" nor that they always will: this type of response trivialises abuse