Family Secrets

"Family secrets" refers to tacitly agreed upon unspoken confidences held within the family. They go beyond mere sore points into the more traumatic region of ego vulnerability. From a psychoanalytical point of view, it is argued that the mutually held secret draws the family together, that being its primary function. The concept of a secret within a secret is developed to explain the phenomenon whereby an intensely traumatic secret is masked by a less severe one. Case studies are cited that lend support to this theory. Feelings of loyalty generated within the family counteract the secret's destructive power, establishing equilibrium. The implications for family therapy are discussed. 9 References. J. Peterson.