Trauma-Organized Systems: Physical and Sexual Abuse in Families

153 Pages·1992·3.92 MB·English

by  Arnon Bentovim

SYSTEMIC THINKING AND PRACTICE SERIES
Edited by David Campbell and Ros Draper
Trauma-Organized Systems
Physical and sexual abuse in families
ARNON BENTOVIM

KARNAC BOOKS
T R A U M A - O R G A N I Z ED

S Y S T E MS
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TRAUMA-ORGANIZED

SYSTEMS

Physical and Sexual Abuse

in Families

REVISED EDITION
Arnon Bentovim
Foreword by
Donald A. Block
Systemic Thinking and Practice Series
Series Editors
David Campbell & Ros Draper
London
K A RM AC B O O KS
First published in 1992 by
H. Karnac (Books) Ltd,
118 Finchley Road,
London NW3 5HT
This edition published
with revisions in 1995
Copyright © 1992 by Arnon Bentovim
The rights of Arnon Bentovim to be identified as author of this work have
been asserted in accordance with §§ 77 and 78 of the Copyright Design
and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Bentovim, Arnon
Trauma-organized Systems: Physical and
Sexual Abuse in Families. — (Systemic
Thinking & Practice Series)
I. Title II. Series
155.232
ISBN 978 1 85575 012 8
Printed in Great Britain by BPC Wheatons Ltd, Exeter
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Although I was the consultant responsible for the cases referred to,
the interviews and sessions described to illustrate the ideas were
the work of myself and my colleagues.
I acknowledge them, and the individuals and families we
worked with, as my sources of inspiration with much gratitude.
They include Marianne Tranter, Barbara Segal, Jill Hodges, and
Joanne Sylvester. I am also grateful to David Campbell and Ros
Draper for their continuing encouragement
v
I
CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS V
EDITORS' FOREWORD xi
FOREWORD by Donald A. Bloch xiii
INTRODUCTION
Why attempt to develop a systemic approach
to family violence? xvii
CHAPTER ONE
The family as a violent institution:
a sociological perspective 1
The prevalence of violence in the family 1
The family as a violent institution 2
vii
Viii CONTENTS
CHAPTER TWO

Family violence:

explanatory models to describe

violent and abusive families 9

CHAPTER THREE

Developing a social-interactional-systemic account

of family violence 13

The social construction of family violence 18

Self-fulfilling prophecies and family violence 18

The effect of recognizing abuse 20

Violence of men towards women

and of women towards men 20

CHAPTER FOUR
Family victimization processes
and social-interaction explanations for family violence 23

Organized systems 24

The effects of trauma 24

The effects of longer-term victimization and trauma 25

CHAPTER FIVE
A systematic account
of the different trauma-organized systems
in various forms of family violence 31

Attachment patterns and physical

and emotional abuse and neglect 31

The trauma-organized system of physical abuse 35
CONTENTS ix

The trauma-organized system of sexual abuse 39

The trauma-organized system of violence

between partners—wife battering 46

CHAPTER SIX
Trauma-organized systems:

breaking the denial process by externalizing 51

Trauma-organized systems

and internalizing conversations 51

Externalizing conversations 52

Confronting trauma-organized systems 57

The use of dolls in interviewing

to "externalize" traumatic activities 58

Externalizing abusive activities 59

Externalizing processes in physical abuse 60

Use of story stems 62

CHAPTER SEVEN
A focal model to encompass the descriptions

of the trauma-determined family system 65

CHAPTER EIGHT
Treating the trauma-organized system 91

Assessment for treatment 91

Assessment of attitudes to family violence 99

The assessment process 102