ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the formation and neurological development of the sense of self, and how trauma tends to repeat itself across generations. The sense of self can be damaged by adverse childhood experiences and may lead to a vast array of psychological and physical consequences. The chapter discusses the victim to perpetrator cycle, the differences between male and female victims of abuse, and potential protective factors that prohibit history repeating itself. In the case study, the therapist takes the client back to the origin of his aggressive behaviour, and helps him understand that he was acting out memories of the past instead of living in the here and now. The cycle of abuse between victim and perpetrator is a much-argued discourse. It has been suggested that a cycle of sexual abuse is a phenomenon that is tied to a forensic psychotherapy population which only becomes evident when the clients disclose their earlier experiences and admit to their perpetrator behaviour.
