The Shattered Self: A Psychoanalytic Study of Trauma

by Richard B. Ulman, Doris Brothers

Overview

Ulman and Brothers utilize a unique clinical research population of rape and incest victims and Vietnam combat veterans to argue that trauma results from real occurrences that have, as their unconscious meaning, the shattering of "central organizing fantasies" of self in relation to selfobject. Their innovative treatment approach revolves around the transformation of these shattered fantasies in the intersubjective context of the transference-countertransference neurosis.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781135061920
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/13/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	344
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Authored by Ulman, Richard B.; Brothers, Doris

Table of Contents

1. Trauma: Reality or Fantasy? Conundrum for Psychoanalysis  2. Psychoanalytic Schools of Thought on Trauma  3. Incest: The Dissolution of Childhood Fantasies  4. Rape: Violation of the "Heroine"  5. Combat: The Vicissitudes of "Rambo": Fantasies in Adolescence  6. A Self-Psychological Approach to Analytic Therapy of the Trauma Patient  7. Treatment Case Studies of Incest, Rape, and Combat  8. Final Considerations

Editorial Reviews

"I would recommend The Shattered Self wholeheartedly for its cogent summary of self psychology and developmental theory, as a treatise of trauma and its impact, and as a clinical manual with case illustrations of the treatment of trauma in patients regardless of their diagnostic configuration. I predict it will substantially alter your view of an approach to individuals who have experienced any of a broad range of traumas."

- David Kreuger, M.D., Contemporary Psychology

"In three in-depth case studies, the authors demonstrate how psychoanalytic therapy informed by self-psychology theory can overcome the effects of trauma through the transformation of shattered fantasies in the intersubjective matrix of the transference-countertransference neurosis. In addition to being a record of a research project integrating clinical data from different types of trauma, this book is also an important contribution to the knowledge about PTSD. This well-written volume is recommended for all mental health professionals who are interested in either the psychoanalytic theory of trauma or the therapy of traumatic reactions; it will be valued for proposing an impressive new theory for trauma."

- Theo L. Dorpat, The Psychoanalytic Review

"This book is a major contribution to the understanding and treatment of PTSD."

- Readings: A Journal of Reviews

From the Publisher