Pedophilia = Transference...?

[Ben Franklin]

To　me, if true,　this may be the missing link in curing child molesters.

Pedophilia and the transference relationship.

News: Salvador de Bahia ・IIIｰ Congresso Latino-Americano de Psicologia Analitica

...This is a case of erotic transference which is hardly ever mentioned in psychoanalytic literature on the subject of child therapy, or the theoretical question of transference in this particular context. However, we must force ourselves to admit that if the rule of abstinence in work with adults really does apply to sexual acts, it must also come up in therapy with children, where sexual acting-out constitutes pedophilia. It is significant that professional child-care providers (like teachers, social workers, counselors, etc.) who have not necessarily undergone psychoanalysis, and thus have never confronted their counter-transferential projections onto children, are in the greatest danger of acting out pedophile fantasies...

© source where applicable

[Minnesota]

Just from skimming through the piece it's evident its juvenile approach and its ideas on the issues of pedophilia are as useless as are L. Ron Hubbard's crackpot ideas on general mental health. To call it, "hair-brained" is being kind. One would be better off seeking the opinion of a Peruvian shaman.

[Mentalist]

What a load of drivel, it gives considerably more insight into the mind of the author than it does of pedophilia.

[kendal]

it is a mental disorder,and too many people seem to have it!
They need REAL help,but it seems like there isn't much out there?

[Mentalist]

it is a mental disorder,and too many people seem to have it!
They need REAL help,but it seems like there isn't much out there?

A mental disorder?? Rediculous!

You're right in that they're not going to get real help with such incredibly poor understanding as that.

[kendal]

Wow! Testy huh?
Well,I am sorry if you can't accept logical ideas,but thats just too bad. I cannot share your opinion,so please try to respect this,ok?
You seem to be a bitter lil' individual,but thats not the topic at hand for the moment,though it needs to be addressed. NEW TOPIC anyone?

[Mentalist]

Wow! Testy huh?
Well,I am sorry if you can't accept logical ideas,but thats just too bad. I cannot share your opinion,so please try to respect this,ok?
You seem to be a bitter lil' individual,but thats not the topic at hand for the moment,though it needs to be addressed. NEW TOPIC anyone?

It seems as though you regard yourself as an expert if you think you are able to make those assessments.

It might make you sleep better to think that someone has to have a mental disorder to be a pedophile but that doesn't make it the case. Better understanding of the problem helps more people get help and get the right help. Dehumanizing pedophiles only serves to isolate them from society and make them more likely targets of abuse.

Apologies that disagagreeing with you has caused you so much distress, it was not my intention, but if you would like to start a thread discussing me, you are most welcome.

[Ben Franklin]

Transference is a real psychological process, so why do you dismiss the theory that pedophilia is similar to (or is one form of) transference out-of-hand...? Are you saying that pedophiles couldn`t act out on children who they`ve transferred their sexual emotions onto...? Are you objecting to the "dissertation" or the concept (or both)...? If so, why...?

[jason]

Transference is a real psychological process, so why do you dismiss the theory that pedophilia is similar to (or is one form of) transference out-of-hand...? Are you saying that pedophiles couldn`t act out on children who they`ve transferred their sexual emotions onto...? Are you objecting to the "dissertation" or the concept (or both)...? If so, why...?

<Sarcasm>

They probably don't like the idea because they dislike being labeled mentally ill

This is a fair warning to those sarcastically impaired the preceding text was written in jest.

[Ben Franklin]

<Sarcasm>

They probably don't like the idea because they dislike being labeled mentally ill

This is a fair warning to those sarcastically impaired the preceding text was written in jest.

Hmmm... That's a shame people use that label overly-much, since many of the phobias/traumas that people suffer from are a result of a natural mind activity... I wouldn't say such people are mentally ill, but rather that they need to learn to rehabilitate their psychoses... If people didn't have mind, they couldn't have patterns of behavior, so it's just adjusting the process which created the abnormality, for lack of a better term... When you see mind as an operating system, it's easier to understand the process...　No need to take any of this stuff personally, since conscious acting is not an issue here: pedophilia is an unconscious urge that needs to be clarified... Identifying the condition would go a long way in treating it, wouldn't it...?

[Mentalist]

My main gripe was that a certain poster was claiming pedophiles have a mental disorder, which as far I'm aware is completely false and I believe labelling as such is harmful.

As for the essay, as far as I can make out it's rambling conjecture from start to finish. The writer jumps from abstract scene to abstract scene with little to no explanation or evidence. I find many psychoanalytic concepts rather dubious and essays like this only encourage me to look skeptically at them. Numerous references to themes in myth, folklore and religion are made inferring that they offer some psychological truth. Talk of the divine, evil and soul have no grounding in science as far as I'm concerned. While child/parent relationships are important, psychoanalysis, including this essay, tend to deal almost solely with this relationship to the exclusion of other possible influences. The essay brings together various concepts and theories from other sources but fails to integrate them and furthermore the conclusion does not draw any conclusions from earlier concepts at all but instead but brings up new concepts.

So, the essay has too narrow a focus, introduces vague and unsubstantiated concepts, fails to relate these concepts to the subject and does not draw any conclusions. That's why I wasn't impressed.

[jason]

My main gripe was that a certain poster was claiming pedophiles have a mental disorder, which as far I'm aware is completely false and I believe labelling as such is harmful.

Given paedophillia is listed in the DSM-IV, clearly you are mistaken for thinking it is not considered a mental disorder/illness.

Jason

[Mentalist]

Given paedophillia is listed in the DSM-IV, clearly you are mistaken for thinking it is not considered a mental disorder/illness.

Jason

Ok, my apologies, possibly it was just a misunderstanding of what the poster meant on my part. It depends what you consider to be a mental disorder, I would suggest by those classifications a huge proportion (possibly all) of the world's population suffer from some form of mental disorder. In common parlance I feel rather stricter criterion are used than this.

[Ben Franklin]

Ok, my apologies, possibly it was just a misunderstanding of what the poster meant on my part. It depends what you consider to be a mental disorder, I would suggest by those classifications a huge proportion (possibly all) of the world's population suffer from some form of mental disorder. In common parlance I feel rather stricter criterion are used than this.

I agree. I wouldn't label people afraid of heights or confined spaces, as examples, as mentally ill. I believe sexual feelings are also deep-rooted in the same way as the aforementioned phobias, and that pedophilia can be worked through, especially if it is a form of transference. Unfortunately, I'm not a psychiatrist/psychologist, and I am having trouble finding any lay papers posted on this theory. I, too, skipped over the hot-air in the article... I hope that I can find something more credible online: I'll keep looking, guys...

[XaositectCrayon]

this may sound cold... but if they cant control themselves they need to just be "gotten rid of" one way or the other. It'll save them the pain of having to deal with the prisons and us the pain of suffering them.

I never found self control hard...