Institute of Family and Sexuality Studies, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
J Marital Fam Ther. 2012 Jul;38(3):529-41. doi: 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2011.00237.x. Epub 2011 Jul 27.
Several authors have written about family secrets in the family therapy literature in interesting ways. According to these authors, the questions "who knows the secret?" and "who does not know the secret?" are central. In the present study, we have qualitatively analyzed the documentary film Familiegeheim (Family Secret) by the Dutch director Jaap van Hoewijk. The film shows van Hoewijk's investigation into the death of his father in 1974 and tells the story of a family in which the suicide of the father is kept secret from the three children. Our analysis of the film highlights the complex ways in which families deal with sensitive issues like loss, grief, and suicide. The concept of family secrets seems to poorly capture this complexity, focusing one-sidedly on the destructive effects of withholding delicate information. The concept of selective disclosure is proposed as an alternative. Selective disclosure refers to the complex processes involved in dealing with the dialectic tension between sharing information and keeping it secret. The concept is not only focused on the destructiveness of secrecy but, in addition, also makes room for an appreciation of the caution with which family members deal with sensitive family issues.
几位作者以有趣的方式在家庭治疗文献中写到了家庭秘密。根据这些作者的观点，“谁知道这个秘密？”和“谁不知道这个秘密？”这两个问题是核心。在本研究中，我们对荷兰导演雅普·凡·霍韦克（Jaap van Hoewijk）的纪录片《家庭秘密》（Familiegeheim）进行了定性分析。这部电影展示了凡·霍韦克对他父亲 1974 年去世的调查，并讲述了一个父亲自杀的故事，这个秘密对三个孩子隐瞒了。我们对这部电影的分析强调了家庭处理诸如失落、悲伤和自杀等敏感问题的复杂方式。家庭秘密的概念似乎无法很好地捕捉到这种复杂性，而是片面地关注隐瞒敏感信息的破坏性影响。选择性披露的概念被提出作为一种替代方案。选择性披露是指在分享信息和保密之间的辩证张力中涉及的复杂过程。这个概念不仅关注保密性的破坏性，而且还为欣赏家庭成员在处理敏感家庭问题时的谨慎留出了空间。
