The shocking news in celebrity relationships today: Former child star Mackenzie Phillips, on the Today show, Oprah, and everywhere else, says she had a sexual relationship with her father, John Phillips of acclaimed ’60s vocal group The Mamas and the Papas. And that it lasted for more than a decade. Phillips is now 49, but was 19 years old when she says she was raped by her father on the night before her wedding.
Parental incest is probably one of the most dangerous forms of child abuse because it injures physically, mentally and emotionally. Even at the age of nineteen, severe psychological damage can occur from incest because a young person is physically, emotionally, and mentally dependent on the parent, because there is such a disparity in emotional maturity, and finally because it damages the development of normal relationships in young adulthood. In adulthood, children who were once victims of secret parental incest often feel bonded to the very same parent who abused them, while also feeling anger and shame. Children who love their parents are often unable to comprehend how their parents have wronged them.
Add to MacKenzie Philips claims that her father introduced her to drugs at the age of eleven and the potential for psychological damage is enormous. Effects could be a disassociation, becoming “dead inside”, depression, anger and rage issues, and difficulties maintaining healthy relationships throughout life. My heart goes out to Mackenizie Phillps but I don’t think the forum to find help, healing and a fresh start will be found anywhere near a talk show couch. There are better couches out there, Mackenzie.
Tags: Attachment. Romantic Attachment, John Phillips, Mackenzie Phillips, Mamas and Papas