“Are we there to determine what happened or not?”: A thematic analysis of psychiatrists’ lived experiences supporting minors who are victims of incest.

OBJECTIVE: Minors who are victims of incest experience long-lasting psychological distress and are more likely to require inpatient treatment in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. While psychiatrists have a critical position in mental health care delivery, they report difficulties identifying and working with these situations. We aimed to explore psychiatrists' lived experiences supporting minors who are victims of incest and suggest solutions to their specific needs. METHOD: We conducted a reflexive thematic analysis of 11 semistructured interviews with psychiatrists working in various settings across two cities in southwestern France. We involved a qualitative research group to gather multiple perspectives on the data, refine the study's design, and organize triangulation sessions during coding and definition of themes. RESULTS: Our analysis produced three main themes. First, the barriers and factors facilitating the identification of incest in everyday practice, with professionals striving to create a safe environment to foster the therapeutic relationship rather than systematically assessing the occurrence of incest. Second, the doubt and uncertainty psychiatrists aim to manage by distancing themselves from the search of an objective truth. Third, the necessity to share information to ensure the victims' safety and foster health care delivery while supporting the patients through unwanted consequences of their disclosure. CONCLUSIONS: Providing psychiatrists with sufficient time to receive young persons and their families, assessing traumatic exposure in other family members, supporting early detection, increasing medical training on incest, and facilitating the availability of social and legal services constitute first steps toward a better health care delivery in this population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).