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Sadomasochism in Children and Adolescents: A Contemporary Treatment Approach

NCJ Number
108540
Journal
Psychotherapy Volume: 23 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1986) Pages: 586-592
Author(s)
B A Naylor
Date Published
1986
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The nature and origins of sadomasochistic behavior in children are discussed in terms of psychoanalytic and social reinforcement theories.
Abstract
Acting-out children often exhibit a behavioral constellation in which the search for intense emotional contact is central. They are easily provoked to anger and frequently provoke peers and adults to anger. They frequently find another person who will engage with them in a mutually satisfying but unconscious game in which participants provoke each other to anger, punishment, revenge, and various disciplinary procedures. Treating such youth requires a two-phase approach in which the therapist develops a level of appropriate emotional intensity and attachment with the child. The goal of therapy then becomes the gradual replacement of the need for sadomasochistic gratification with the acquisition of adequate self-esteem and self-nurturing capacity through internalization of the therapist's positive nonsadistic qualities. During the second phase, therapy aims at resolving resistances through such techniques as mirroring, restructuring, refocusing, and therpaeutic use of countertransference reactions. A case study illustrates the dynamics of sadomasochism in children and its treatment. 27 references.