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DEFENSIVE PROCESSES AND DECEPTION: AN ANALYSIS OF THE RESPONSE OF THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH TO DISCLOSURES OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
Author(s) -
Gardner Fiona
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
british journal of psychotherapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.442
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1752-0118
pISSN - 0265-9883
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0118.2011.01255.x
Subject(s) - psychology , secrecy , deception , institution , narcissism , context (archaeology) , child sexual abuse , psychoanalytic theory , social psychology , anxiety , sexual abuse , psychoanalysis , poison control , suicide prevention , sociology , law , social science , paleontology , medicine , environmental health , psychiatry , political science , biology
Disclosures about the extent of sexual abuse within the church context and the gradual revealing of the way that the institution has responded in the past indicate underlying anxiety and associated defensive processes. It is suggested in this paper that these processes have led to secrecy and deception. Similarities between the behaviour of perpetrators and the response by the church are explored alongside current preoccupations within the church. Psychoanalytic ideas and theories of organizational dynamics are used to explore and reflect on the fantasies and explicit and implicit assumptions within the institution. It is suggested that the church has displayed institutional narcissism in its response to disclosures. Ideas are illustrated by generic situations.