ABSTRACT
In working with adult survivors it seems to me important, as early in the therapy as is practicable, to make a clear statement about the issue of blame and responsibility. This comes from the experiences of colleagues working with children who have been or are being abused. It may not seem like a major issue to readers who are not systemic family therapists; however, within the family therapy community this statement initially elicited some criticism. It seemed to family therapists not possible to make such an apparently "lineal" statement, while still retaining the possibility of working "neutrally" with all family members, and while intending to consider the parts played by all family members within the system within which abuse occurred. In my experience it has indeed been possible to combine these two apparently incompatible attitudes.
