ABSTRACT
The first case study in this chapter describes the apology session of Laird Larson, who physically abused his biological sons and sexually abused his stepdaughter, Leia. It is a good illustration of the intervention’s utility in cases of sexual abuse and especially its use with very young children. We also found both child protective services (CPS) and the court system unusually willing to allow therapy to take precedence over other factors in the case. As we shall see in chapter 6, this priority is not always so apparent. The second case involves a neglectful alcoholic mother and her son, Justin, who presented a number of conduct disturbances. It is very different from Leia’s case because the boy is a teenager and well on his way to delinquency. As such he would more typically be the target of power-based interventions emphasizing his role in offending against his grandmother and society at large. However, as with so many of his peers, Justin is a victim in the garb of an offender, lashing out at the injustices done him by his mother whom he outwardly despises and inwardly cherishes.
