When the Abuser is One of Us

Bob Montgomery was a senior and respected clinical psychologist, head of Psychology at Bond University, a consultant to the reality show Big Brother, expert witness to the Queensland Family Court and president of the Australian Psychological Society. He is also a convicted pedophile, currently serving a prison term for sexual abuse of adolescent boys.

While it is tempting to be possessed by the individual it is perhaps more important to consider the response by and implications for the professional family to which he belonged. He was one of us and the failure to actively address this is astounding given that many psychologists work with those who have been abused and their families.

Disclosure of sexual abuse by a family member is not always readily embraced by the family and those who dare speak are not necessarily believed or supported. Continued sexual abuse depends on a culture of secrecy which is not automatically changed by one person speaking. Other constraints also operate to prevent support. The abuser may be the head of the family with all the power and authority that carries and accepting the truth may threaten important resources for all family members and damage the reputation of everyone. Working with these families requires courage, dexterity, and tenacity.

And now we as the family called clinical psychology find ourselves at the heart of the dilemma and to date, we have responded with similar dynamics to those we challenge in families and for many of the same reasons. Montgomery was head of this family, a respected man whose opinion was actively sought. He was president of our national body, and we rightly fear the reputational damage for all who call themselves psychologists. Now we are called upon to do what we ask of these families. We ask them to accept the truth of what they have been told and to ask the questions, How could this have happened in our family? Why did we not see? When things didn’t add up why didn’t we question? and What should we do now to ensure this never happens again. But before any of this happens we must find the courage to begin to speak.

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