Multiple Overt Incest as Family Defense Against Loss

A case report of father-daughter incest is presented that illustrates the way in which overt incest can function as a multi-determined familial defense against separation and loss. The case is further distinguished by: (a) multiple incest and (b) family therapy--an approach infrequently described in the literature on this problem. The authors have adopted the psychodynamic view that incest expresses the collective psychopathology of all the family members as well as their common adaptational capacities. Specifically, we have attempted to demonstrate that separation anxiety was a shared dread in this family and that incest defended against this painful prospect.