ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on betrayal experiences which went unrecognised by the caregiver, and were not repaired. It delineates some of the developmental factors which make children vulnerable to experiencing betrayal at the hands of their parents. The chapter describes a number of factors which inhibit empathic responses from previously "good enough" mothers. Data from the analyses of adults and children are used to illustrate how the early betrayal experience may have longstanding adverse effects upon the individual's subsequent capacity to trust himself and others, to develop the capacity for empathy, for mentalisation, and, ultimately, to enjoy and sustain mutually satisfying intimate relationships. Throughout the clinical material, the chapter addresses some treatment implications, including the emergence of betrayal behaviours and fantasies in the transference, as well as countertransference challenges, and the handling of the propensity for the defensive use of vengeful behaviours and fantasies to maintain a sadomasochistic object tie.
