S'extraire du clivage de loyauté

Abstract

This article describes an aspect of a family therapy in which split loyalty has been loudly expressed. Antagonisms between the parents tend to stiffen and paralyze the child. The split is studied through its trans-generation origins and its consequences. As he is torn between impasses in which the consideration due to his close relations is confused, the child is in deep trouble and even unable to express his loyalties. Therapists, in the case under scrutiny, have followed and accentuated the initiatives taken by the adolescent in order to get out of this deadlock, and used them in a particular device: adults only were present during the sessions. The fact that the children are absent makes it possible for a specific process to take place: the parents make an effort and listen to what the adolescent expresses, so that they can elaborate his viewpoints later on, in another session. This device creates a spiral of renewed confidence.