In this talk Forensic Psychotherapist Anna Motz explores the taboo of female violence, and its denial, describing how the idealisation of women renders invisible their potential for aggression and re-enactment of trauma. This is particularly true for mothers, who are especially idealised and romanticised. The difficulty of seeing women, in their complexity, agency and capacity for violence, has implications for the assessment and treatment of all female offenders. Despite evidence that women can and do commit acts of violence, against others, notably their intimate partners, their children and, less frequently, against members of the public, the denial of female violence remains an entrenched social prejudice. As Welldon revealed, the intergenerational transmission of maternal violence can be traced across at least three generations of women. Using clinical material to illustrate the theory of maternal narcissism Motz will elaborate on essential treatment issues in working with mothers who have committed serious acts of violence, and also highlight the need to keep hope alive in these complex and often tragic cases.

Anna Motz is a psychoanalytic psychotherapist, consultant clinical and forensic psychologist, forensic psychotherapist and author of several books, most recently A Love that Kills: Stories of Forensic Psychology and Female Violence. She was  past president of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy and is a  consultant for the  EOS service at HMP Bronzefield working with Central and Northwest London NHS Foundation Trust for high risk complex women.  She is also a supervisor, lecturer and expert in criminal and civil cases and has worked in forensic services for over 30 years.