Overview

Therapists working with child abuse in public agencies walk a particularly fine line. Positioned between the family and the larger welfare system, as well as between parent and child, therapists must maintain the trust of conflicting parties while dealing with the myriad frustrations this situation entails. This volume examines the paradoxes of child-at-risk work and illuminates the social context in which it is set. Illustrated with case examples and interviews with parents, the book reveals the ways that families perceive therapists and the reasons behind what is often described as ""resistance"" to intervention. Therapists gain an understanding of the layers of trust and betrayal that pervade the experience of abusive families in the welfare setting, and learn how to acknowledge this experience and apply it toward positive change.

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9781572305236

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Reviews

MacKinnon's book draws clear lines between the high table of her ideas and the kitchen table of her practice. The examples and anecdotes that illustrate her procedural building blocks are logical and set forth in lucid, intelligent prose. As a result, the book is both fascinating and enjoyable to read. This is a book of originality, skill, and daring, possessing exceptional synthetic power. After ceaseless wrangles among family therapists, feminists, child protection authorities, and trauma experts, and in spite of the enduring conflict between the aims of therapy and social control, MacKinnon has come up with a framework that deals respectfully and elegantly with all these agendas. My prediction is that her book will become a bible in the field. It will also form a table around which warring therapeutic clans, as well as families caught in the middle, can gather to make their peace. --Lynn Hoffman, ACSW, Adjunct Lecturer, Smith School of Social Work <br> MacKinnon provides a compelling analysis of what makes child-at-risk cases so difficult for therapists, child protection workers, and families. Drawing on her own research, she elucidates the experiences of parents who become caught in a system they feel to be oppressive and punitive. But it need not be so: MacKinnon's extensive clinical experience, and her appreciation of issues of class, gender, and power, are the bases for a detailed account of an alternative approach founded on trust--which counters oppression without itself being oppressive. This important book charts a new path for therapists working in this difficult field. --John Carpenter, CPsychol, Director, Centre for Applied Social Studies, University of Durham, UK, Co-editor, Journal of Family Therapy <br> Laurie MacKinnon's deeply thoughtful and helpful book on the family treatment of children at risk is in the best tradition of family therapy.... Everyone who does this work needs brave and detailed books like this--books that in their thic

I would recommend this book for anyone working in situations in which abuse is an issue. -- The Canadian Child Psychiatry Review <br> This work is exceptionally readable and very appropriate for an undergraduate library. It should be required reading not only for undergraduates interested in the issue of child abuse but also for graduate students in a variety of majors and professionals who must deal with child abuse. Strongly recommended. -- Choice <br>.,. a sophisticated and nuanced exploration of the ways that social discourse and imbalances of social power impact both the realities of abuse and our own responses to it....it is at least a manifesto about how to think about therapy with those disenfranchised 'others' who may abuse those more vulnerable than even themselves--their children....For those of us who find ourselves perplexed and frustrated by work with 'difficult' families, Trust and Betrayal is a valuable resource.... Trust and Betrayal is a highly practical, almost step-by-step guide to conducting therapy in a different key--one that is uniquely sensitive to class, gender and power, the inherently violent discourses of patriarchal culture. It is an excellent guide to a more 'just' therapy, as well as a route that takes us beyond our typical views of resistance and dysfunction in child abuse cases. -- Journal of Feminist Family Therapy <br> Candor about perceived sociopolitical influence, graphic dialogue in case examples, and use of effective therapeutic leverage in treatment of child abusing families are powerful components of this well conceived and needed text. Traditional views of family dysfunction, pathology and resistance are incisively challenged by theauthor....Prospective readers are strongly encouraged to read this thought provoking, clearly organized and well written text. If there is concern about a child abuse case, MacKinnon's book provides invaluable assistance in successful case management and therapeutic direction. -- Journal of Family Psychotherapy <br> Case histories are presented throughout and practical suggestions are given, such as instructions on how to prepare the family for an apology meeting with the victim....This book is recommended for therapists who work with this population as well as for the child protective workers. -- Issues in Child Abuse Accusations <br> Offers helpful tools for family intervention that social workers, family therapists, psychologists, counselors, and anyone else who deals with child abuse will find of great value. The author also provides insights into working class family life that sociologists will find useful. -- Hotline <br> This work is exceptionally readable and very appropriate for an undergraduate library. It should be required reading not only for undergraduates interested in the issue of child abuse but also for graduate students in a variety of majors and professionals who must deal with child abuse. Strongly recommended. -- Choice <br>

MacKinnon's book draws clear lines between the high table of her ideas and the kitchen table of her practice. The examples and anecdotes that illustrate her procedural building blocks are logical and set forth in lucid, intelligent prose. As a result, the book is both fascinating and enjoyable to read. This is a book of originality, skill, and daring, possessing exceptional synthetic power. After ceaseless wrangles among family therapists, feminists, child protection authorities, and trauma experts, and in spite of the enduring conflict between the aims of therapy and social control, MacKinnon has come up with a framework that deals respectfully and elegantly with all these agendas. My prediction is that her book will become a bible in the field. It will also form a table around which warring therapeutic clans, as well as families caught in the middle, can gather to make their peace. --Lynn Hoffman, ACSW, Adjunct Lecturer, Smith School of Social Work MacKinnon provides a compelling analysis of what makes child-at-risk cases so difficult for therapists, child protection workers, and families. Drawing on her own research, she elucidates the experiences of parents who become caught in a system they feel to be oppressive and punitive. But it need not be so: MacKinnon's extensive clinical experience, and her appreciation of issues of class, gender, and power, are the bases for a detailed account of an alternative approach founded on trust--which counters oppression without itself being oppressive. This important book charts a new path for therapists working in this difficult field. --John Carpenter, CPsychol, Director, Centre for Applied Social Studies, University of Durham, UK, Co-editor, Journal of Family Therapy Laurie MacKinnon's deeply thoughtful and helpful book on the family treatment of children at risk is in the best tradition of family therapy.... Everyone who does this work needs brave and detailed books like this--books that in their thick description walk the walk, providing expert guidance, reassurance, and innovative technical suggestions that mobilize agency and create space for dialogue between all the parties. --From the Foreword by Virginia Goldner, PhD, Co-Director, Gender and Violence Project, Ackerman Institute for the Family - This work is exceptionally readable and very appropriate for an undergraduate library. It should be required reading not only for undergraduates interested in the issue of child abuse but also for graduate students in a variety of majors and professionals who must deal with child abuse. Strongly recommended. --Choice, 7/18/1999

MacKinnon's book draws clear lines between the high table of her ideas and the kitchen table of her practice. The examples and anecdotes that illustrate her procedural building blocks are logical and set forth in lucid, intelligent prose. As a result, the book is both fascinating and enjoyable to read. This is a book of originality, skill, and daring, possessing exceptional synthetic power. After ceaseless wrangles among family therapists, feminists, child protection authorities, and trauma experts, and in spite of the enduring conflict between the aims of therapy and social control, MacKinnon has come up with a framework that deals respectfully and elegantly with all these agendas. My prediction is that her book will become a bible in the field. It will also form a table around which warring therapeutic clans, as well as families caught in the middle, can gather to make their peace. --Lynn Hoffman, ACSW, Adjunct Lecturer, Smith School of Social Work MacKinnon provides a compelling analysis of what makes child-at-risk cases so difficult for therapists, child protection workers, and families. Drawing on her own research, she elucidates the experiences of parents who become caught in a system they feel to be oppressive and punitive. But it need not be so: MacKinnon's extensive clinical experience, and her appreciation of issues of class, gender, and power, are the bases for a detailed account of an alternative approach founded on trust--which counters oppression without itself being oppressive. This important book charts a new path for therapists working in this difficult field. --John Carpenter, CPsychol, Director, Centre for Applied Social Studies, University of Durham, UK, Co-editor, Journal of Family Therapy Laurie MacKinnon's deeply thoughtful and helpful book on the family treatment of children at risk is in the best tradition of family therapy.... Everyone who does this work needs brave and detailed books like this--books that in their thick description walk the walk, providing expert guidance, reassurance, and innovative technical suggestions that mobilize agency and create space for dialogue between all the parties. --From the Foreword by Virginia Goldner, PhD, Co-Director, Gender and Violence Project, Ackerman Institute for the Family

MacKinnon's book draws clear lines between the high table of her ideas and the kitchen table of her practice. The examples and anecdotes that illustrate her procedural building blocks are logical and set forth in lucid, intelligent prose. As a result, the book is both fascinating and enjoyable to read. This is a book of originality, skill, and daring, possessing exceptional synthetic power. After ceaseless wrangles among family therapists, feminists, child protection authorities, and trauma experts, and in spite of the enduring conflict between the aims of therapy and social control, MacKinnon has come up with a framework that deals respectfully and elegantly with all these agendas. My prediction is that her book will become a bible in the field. It will also form a table around which warring therapeutic clans, as well as families caught in the middle, can gather to make their peace. --Lynn Hoffman, ACSW, Adjunct Lecturer, Smith School of Social Work MacKinnon provides a compelling analysis of what makes child-at-risk cases so difficult for therapists, child protection workers, and families. Drawing on her own research, she elucidates the experiences of parents who become caught in a system they feel to be oppressive and punitive. But it need not be so: MacKinnon's extensive clinical experience, and her appreciation of issues of class, gender, and power, are the bases for a detailed account of an alternative approach founded on trust--which counters oppression without itself being oppressive. This important book charts a new path for therapists working in this difficult field. --John Carpenter, CPsychol, Director, Centre for Applied Social Studies, University of Durham, UK, Co-editor, Journal of Family Therapy Laurie MacKinnon's deeply thoughtful and helpful book on the family treatment of children at risk is in the best tradition of family therapy.... Everyone who does this work needs brave and detailed books like this--books that in their thic

MacKinnon's book draws clear lines between the high table of her ideas and the kitchen table of her practice. The examples and anecdotes that illustrate her procedural building blocks are logical and set forth in lucid, intelligent prose. As a result, the book is both fascinating and enjoyable to read. This is a book of originality, skill, and daring, possessing exceptional synthetic power. After ceaseless wrangles among family therapists, feminists, child protection authorities, and trauma experts, and in spite of the enduring conflict between the aims of therapy and social control, MacKinnon has come up with a framework that deals respectfully and elegantly with all these agendas. My prediction is that her book will become a bible in the field. It will also form a table around which warring therapeutic clans, as well as families caught in the middle, can gather to make their peace. --Lynn Hoffman, ACSW, Adjunct Lecturer, Smith School of Social Work <br> MacKinnon provides a comp

Author Information

Laurie K. MacKinnon, PhD, is a family therapist in private practice as the Director of Insite Therapy and Consulting in Sydney, Australia. Since 1985, she has lectured in family therapy and provided supervision and training to a number of Australian organizations. Originally from Calgary, Canada, where she received her masters in social work and began her training and practice in family therapy, she received her doctorate from the University of Sydney, Australia. She is an Approved Supervisor of the American Association of Marital and Family Therapy and has published a number of articles relating to theory and clinical practice.

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