Treatment of the incestuous father involves the establishment of an empathic relationship and behavioral controls.
Most incestuous fathers appear to be regressed pedophiles, although a few are fixated. A dysfunctional marital relationship precipitates the onset of father-daughter incest. The nature of the dysfunction tends to be an imbalance of power in the relationship, with at least one partner passive and dependent in nature. Where the father has a dominant and authoritarian personality, social isolation and restriction of the activities of both mother and daughter exist. Because of the danger of imprisonment, it is rare that the sexual abuser seeks treatment on his own. The more typical pattern is one of denial and defense. Most treatment programs include elements that establish behavioral controls and components that deal with affective reactions. These programs generally view sexual abuse as a symptom underlying psychological stress and seek to help abusers become aware of and control factors that reinforce deviant sexual arousal patterns. Treatment of incestuous fathers should involve the establishment of an empathic relationship between client and therapist. The admission of responsibility on the offender's part is necessary if outpatient treatment is to be viable. In addition, individual therapy with the father should precede father-daughter counseling. 29 references.