You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Dr. Kliman presents us with a detailed assemblage of cases, which not only had a profound effect on social policy, but also gives evidence of his unabashed dedication to psychoanalytic thinking and conceptualization. Within the context of a detailed presentation of normal development, Kliman was able to convincingly show how multiple traumata adversely damaged the children on whose behalf he testified. Given the lengthy time that litigation involves, Kliman decided to videotape his interviews with the children. This not only created a permanent record, but also allowed the Court to see how information was obtained. This is particularly important in these times of suggestive and coerced questioning of young children. The videotape not only preserves the memory of events, but offers the affective component, an advantage since the plaintiff child may be called to testify several years after the event when memory condensations, fading, and amnesia tend to distort recall, thus raising issues of child credibility where there should be none. Videotaping over time allowed Kliman to document the long-term effects of the traumata (the psychological deterioration over time) and to make available to the Court the natural history of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Kliman is also very clear about the need for cooperation, consultation, and mutual education between the psychoanalytic expert and the retaining attorney. Although seldom stated directly, a well-prepared knowledgeable psychoanalytic expert educates the attorney in the utility and necessity of a psychoanalytic approach. Using his analytically honed skills, Kliman was able to successfully ascertain unethical behavior of the opposing defense attorney.
Although monetary reward provides some measure of the degree to which the jury is swayed, it does more than that. It shows institutions and our society how vulnerable children are to trauma, to the absence of parental ministrations, and to the shortcomings of our