There is a fateful quality of perpetuity about sibling relationships—our brothers and sisters will always be our contemporaries; we can’t ever quite leave them. However, convenient it would be, we can’t pretend to consign them to irrelevancy.
Markowitz 1994 (p. 69).
Abstract
This paper examines the thematic treatment issues presented in a small, clinical practice setting by eight women aged 56 through 69 who were sexually abused by their brothers/stepbrothers during childhood and seeking therapy for issues dealing with a terminally ill and/or dying parent. The reemergence of traumatic issues and family dynamics with aging parents and end-of-life-issues, dealing with a previously abusive brother, and treatment recommendations on managing reactions, affect, and boundaries are presented.
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Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank Joel Blau, Ph.D., Kimberly F. Daube, L.M.S.W., and Carol Forgash, L.C.S.W. for their invaluable input in reviewing this manuscript, and Angela Caggiano and Jessie Taylor who worked on this project as part of their Masters Project in the School of Social Welfare, and finally Arnie Eisman, L.C.S.W., who gets it.
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Monahan, K. Themes of Adult Sibling Sexual Abuse Survivors in Later Life: An Initial Exploration. Clin Soc Work J 38, 361–369 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-010-0286-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-010-0286-1