Covert, emotional or psychic incest is a type of psychological abuse in which a parent imposes an overly sexualize or codependent relationship on their child. The covert incest relationship includes aspects similar to a relationship between adult sexual partners but without the type of physical contact that would be considered as child sexual abuse. Behaviors associated with covert incest create an interpersonal relationship that is thought to be harmful to the child and one-sided, meeting only the needs of the parent while discounting the needs of the child.