Memoirs of a drug-abusing prostitute: Dynamics and treatment considerations in a case of intergenerational child abuse Article

Kenny, MC, Lane, RC. (1996). Memoirs of a drug-abusing prostitute: Dynamics and treatment considerations in a case of intergenerational child abuse . 26(4), 361-378. 10.1007/BF02312916

cited authors

  • Kenny, MC; Lane, RC

authors

abstract

  • This paper examines the dynamics of a 26-year-old prostitute who entered psychotherapy with a number of symptoms. The patient had undergone a series of traumas in her life and was reenacting them in her present behavior. Repetition compulsion, as described by Freud, was a primary form of resistance manifested by this patient. The repetition of the sexual trauma reenacted itself in her choice of profession; namely, prostitution. Additionally, this woman had lived her earfy years falsefy believing that her parents were caring for her, when in fact, they were her grandparents. This early family secret led to the development of a false self within the patient, as well as a strong sense of entitlement, greed, and need for revenge. © 1996 Human Sciences Press, Inc.

publication date

  • January 1, 1996

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

start page

  • 361

end page

  • 378

volume

  • 26

issue

  • 4