Incest: Understanding and Treatment

Incest is a forbidden sexualized relationship between family members. Incest prohibitions exist in every society and, as such, are surrounded by strong feelings of aversion, shame, and guilt. According to the author, no instinctive aversion to incest exists, nor is there a catastrophic outcome to inbreeding. Instead, Dr Renshaw assumes that sexual feelings and fantasies are a normal part of everyday life, and sexual attraction may naturally arise between family members. Dr Renshaw defines incest as a sexual learning disorder. Thus, some family members have not learned to desexualize affectionate touch or have not learned or accepted that incest is socially inappropriate or morally wrong. Among professionals working with incest, emotional reactions may unexpectedly arise, and when they do, they interfere with therapy. In western cultures, criminalization of incest conflicts with the formation of therapeutic alliances between therapists and patients. Some court experts believe that emotional burdens on the members