Sexual Abuse by Health Professionals: A Personal Search for Meaning and Healing
Susan Penfold
Published: July 1998
Language : English
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Page Count: 224 Pages
The author of this book is a psychiatrist, and the survivor of sexual and emotional abuse by the psychiatrist who was her therapist. She employs two voices in the writing of her book: the first part of each chapter is a narration of her own experiences as a victim of abuse; the second part, an account of her journey as a psychiatrist towards understanding the meaning of the abuse and how to heal from it. Her journey includes having a second, very different, experience of therapy; listening to the stories of other survivors of abuse by health professionals; reading published accounts of such abuses; making her story public to professional and general audiences; being a member of a group dedicated to combating sexual abuse by therapists; talking to colleagues who have treated victims of abuse by health professionals; culling ideas from the literature on trauma and abuse; and treating patients who are themselves survivors of abuse by health professionals.
Her book is a powerful blend of the personal and the professional that penetrates the 'conspiracy of silence' that still holds sway and prevents victims from getting the compassion, understanding, support, and financial and legal aid that they deserve.
***
'Dr Penfold, a major contributor to our understanding of sexual abuse by health care professionals, provides us with an "insider's view" - as someone who was herself victimized, and as someone attempting to heal others who have suffered a similar fate. This unique and remarkable book should be on the shelves of professionals, victim advocates, researchers, and all those who care about and are attempting to respond to the problem of sexual abuse by professionals. It is essential reading.'
Gary R. Schoener, author of Psychotherapists' Sexual Involvement With Clients: Intervention & Prevention and an international expert on professional sexual misconduct.
'A remarkable book which combines a courageous personal narrative with a scholarly and informative text. It will appeal to a wide range of readers.'
Carolyn Quadrio, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Australia
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