Child-Centered Family Therapy: Family Treatment as Adjunct to Dissociation-Focused Interventions

Plaintively, with wide eyes and a beseeching tone, Mrs. Patrick said, “I want the ‘old Janie’ back!” This request, more common than you might imagine, is based on the parent’s desire to move back in time before the trauma, or to avoid acknowledging the multifaceted and complex person that her son or daughter has become. “ Development can only move in one direction-forward, ” I responded. “ You will never get the old Janie back, and that is not what you really want. What you really want is a new Janie, a new Janie that may get angry, show outrage, or disappointment, but will stay attached and feel loved through all her changes of state or diffi culties in life .”