Ra. Blizard et Am. Bluhm, ATTACHMENT TO THE ABUSER - INTEGRATING OBJECT-RELATIONS AND TRAUMA THEORIES IN TREATMENT OF ABUSE SURVIVORS, Psychotherapy, 31(3), 1994, pp. 383-390
Attachment to the abuser often occurs when the primary caretaker of an
abuse survivor was abusive. Attachment and object-relations theories
help to explain this attachment and can inform the treatment of surviv
ors. These theories are integrated with current knowledge of posttraum
atic stress disorder and dissociation to explain the defenses used by
survivors to maintain attachment to the abuser and to clarify patterns
of attachment in survivors' adult relationships. This integration of
theories informs the pacing of treatment and offers insight into trans
ference and countertransference issues.