Working with survivors of clergy sexual abuse and the utilization of EMDR as a treatment modality

As we approach the new millennium, retrospection will show us that to the Roman Catholic Church, sex will be considered its 20th Century equivalent to Gallileo. Some would argue that this issue alone will bring the very edifice crashing to its knees. By 1995, the church's financial costs in victim's settlements, legal expenses and treatment of the clergy, had reached an estimated US$600 million. Yet, as the church is rapidly developing policy regarding its perpetrating priests, there is still uncertainty as to the ways in which psychology and psychotherapy can be utilized more effectively with the survivors of such abuse. For the purpose of this paper, a case will be presented to highlight some of the characteristic traumas experienced by survivors of clergy sexual abuse. A case study will be presented of a survivor of such abuse demonstrating the efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing as an effective treatment modality. The hypothesis being that clergy sexual abuse generates unique cognitive schemas which potentially differ from other types of sexual abuse. If the corollary is that clergy sexual abuse generates different traumas, then for its survivors, what are the implications for appropriate psychological intervention? Participant will learn how: 1) to be aware of sexual abuse by clery in a historical perspective; 2) to examine the ways in which it differs from other types of abuse; 3) to identify specific use of cognitive interwewave for this client group; and 4) to consider recommendations for further research.

Conference

English

Derek Farrell

Farrell, D. (1997, July). Working with survivors of clergy sexual abuse and the utilization of EMDR as a treatment modality. Presentation at the 2nd EMDR International Association Conference, San Francisco, CA