Gender, Power, and Trust in Couple Therapy With Survivors of Childhood Abuse

Abstract

Couples in which a partner experienced child abuse often have exceptional relational stresses, most notably, the difficulty of adult survivors trusting their partners. Power imbalances between partners can accentuate distrust, thereby posing even greater challenges in the relationship. Clinical processes centered in theory guided by relational feminism can be helpful. The author introduces relational trust theory, which articulates how the intermingling of gendered power interactions and adult-survivor power responses negatively impact relational connection. This theory draws on relational ethics and Socio-Emotional Relationship Therapy, which addresses gendered power processes, to help clinicians cultivate mutuality and trust between partners. Case composites show how this theory has been applied in couple therapy.

KEYWORDS:

• adult survivors
• child abuse
• couple therapy
• gender
• power
• trust
• mutuality
• relational ethics