Following sexual abuse : a sociological interpretation of identity re-formation in reflexive therapy
"Sexual abuse has received and continues to attract a considerable amount of scholarly attention. Most studies, however, tend to treat sexual abuse as strictly personal and isolated suffering. Following Sexual Abuse attempts to develop a broader perspective on this important issue via narrated accounts of women's experiences. It is a sociological investigation that looks at the connection between the intra-personal and social worlds of victims as revealed through reflexive therapy." "Marie C. Croll explores the transformational space between intra-personal and social experiences of self, a dual perspective that makes room for both personal and collective experiences in the discussion of sexual abuse and its effects. She argues that private and public interpretations need to be considered together as their influences on the individual are inseparable. Using individual case studies, Croll demonstrates the extent to which varying public perspectives on sexual abuse come to define victims' relationships to their own accounts. Following Sexual Abuse makes a number of important sociological insights available to reflexive therapy and contributes a vital intra-personal perspective on the experience of sexual abuse."--Jacket
Case studies
179 pages ; 24 cm
9780802097729, 0802097723
1019970233
1. A Sociologist/Therapist's View 'from inside the Whale'
2. Locating the Self: The Language of Survival
3. Anguish, Dreams, and Remembering: The Reflexive Process
4. From Silence to Narration: Exposing and Interpreting a Fragmented Self
5. Private Worlds, Public Worlds, and the Pursuit of Certainty
Conclusion: Mind, Body, and Society