One thing which is really striking in reading the account of the first year with Caroline is the developmental history she provides. When clients provide vivid accounts of childhood events it is often hard to know whether the accounts are historically accurate, unintentionally distorted by the clients beliefs and biases, or intentionally distorted by the client. Does this matter?
In looking at what Caroline says about her parents sexual behavior I could see this as an accurate account of childhood events, as an unintentionally selective and biased account, as an account which is biased due to a desire to expose her parents, as an account which is biased by a desire to blame her parents rather than herself, as a test of how the therapist will respond, or as an attempt to recruit the therapist as an ally against her parents. To complicate things further, several of these possibilities could apply.