Experiences of systems practitioners of families where sibling incest has taken place: a first step to a practice based family systems treatment

Background and aim

Relationships between siblings are one of the most solid interpersonal relationships. At the same time, they can also be one of the most harmful ones, for example when incest between siblings has taken place. Incest between siblings usually takes place within a disrupted family situation in which for example child neglect occurs. It is quite remarkable that in the Netherlands very few treatments, focused on the relational trauma itself and all family members involved, are offered to families in which sibling incest has taken place. Besides, there is at the moment insufficient knowledge on the experiences that practitioners who work with families where sibling incest has taken place have with treatments, while such knowledge is of great importance for the final scientific substantiation of a family systems treatment method for these families. Therefore, the core question of this research is: ‘According to systems practitioners, what are important aspects of a treatment for families where sibling incest has taken place?’

Method

A multiple case study design has been used, since this allows us to explain the complex subject of this research. Nine practitioners have been interviewed. Their experiences were recorded during semi-structured, episodic interviews. Subtopics of the interviews were the dynamic characteristics of families where incest has taken place, the main treatment goals for these families, active ingredients of a treatment for these families and the creation of a guideline for a treatment for them. An inductive analysis method has been used to analyse the data.

Results

Many family dynamics and interactions turn out to be treatable and can be leveraged to improve the future. These dynamics and interactions are also frequently used as treatment goals, in order to stop or lessen the undesirable behaviour and empower the family to develop alternate, positive patterns. The treatment goals are focused on the incest between siblings, as well as the disrupted family situation in general. In addition, various factors of the family, the practitioner and the treatment appear to be active ingredients in a treatment for the families. These factors include for example the involvement of the family members, a good therapeutic alliance, and the use of a protocol in cases of sexual transgressive behaviour. Finally, it appears that all participants have a preference for a tailor-made treatment (whereby a protocol is only used as a guideline), where there is room for personal expertise and experience.

Conclusions and recommendations

In conclusion, it can be stated that, by taking into account the experiences of systems practitioners, a first step can be made to a practice based family systems treatment. Ultimately, this practice based evidence can ideally lead to an evidence based family systems treatment for families where sibling incest has taken place. For future research it is recommended to document the treatment experiences and perspectives of parents and children from families in which sibling incest has taken place. Another topic of research could be the treatment of these families within a criminal context.

Keywords

family systems treatment, sibling incest, systems practitioners, family dynamics and interactions, practice based

Supervised by

Muirne Paap

Jana Knot-Dickscheit