Citation

Pollock PH. Br. J. Med. Psychol. 1996; 69(Pt 2): 117-127.

Affiliation

Hutton Centre, St Lukes Hospital, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, British Psychological Society)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8813422

Abstract

Clinical issues arising in the cognitive analytic therapy (CAT; Ryle, 1990) are described for seven sexually abused women who committed violent offences against their partners in intimate relationships. Two principal findings are reported; firstly, support is provided for the original hypothesis of Pollock & Kear-Colwell (1994) in that, following the offence, the women perceived themselves as 'guilty aggressors' and disavowed the role of their own victimization in the commission of the offence; secondly, psychometric data suggested that dissociative states were reported as common experiences for the women before, during and after the offence. The relationship between the abusing-victimized reciprocal role procedure, affective functioning, dissociative states and violent acts is discussed. Themes encountered in the application of CAT for these women are described and a case report is used to illustrate specific treatment issues.

Language: en