A Psychoanalytic Understanding of Trauma: Post-Traumatic Mental Functioning, the Zero Process, and the Construction of Reality

Description

A Psychoanalytic Understanding of Trauma presents a theory of the nature of trauma and post-traumatic mental functioning based on the concept of the ‘zero process’. Joseph Fernando presents a novel, comprehensive, and clinically useful theory of trauma. The author first presents theories of trauma and describes the zero process, related to the breakdown of various ego functions, such as memory and integration, during trauma. Rather than replacing Freud’s ideas of the primary process and repression, Fernando expands on the idea of the mind to include both types of functioning, identifies how they can be differentiated, and examines the different therapeutic techniques they require. He also considers how trauma impacts the construction of reality, the role of human development, the relation of trauma and borderline disorders, and the development of therapeutic technique. Through the unique illustration and narration of cases of three patients, Fernando presents conceptual and clinical innovations. A Psychoanalytic Understanding of Trauma will be of great interest to psychoanalysts and psychoanalytic psychotherapists in practice and in training. Cover Endorsements Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Contents Series Editor's Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1: The Traumatic Process Lack of Preparedness and Being Overwhelmed Triggers, Repetitions, and Conversion Symptoms Repression, Dissociation, and Ego Shut Down Fixation to Trauma Overwhelming From Outside Versus Overwhelming From Inside Chapter 2: Trauma, The Zero Process, and The Construction of Reality Traumatic Memories and The Construction of Reality The Zero Process, the Primary Process, and the Secondary Process Some Applications: Mourning, Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma, and Internal Objects A Trip Down Memory Lane Chapter 3: The Zero Process Drive and Zero Process Defenses The Zero Process Drive Repression Dissociation Zero Process Denial and Temporal Shifting Dissociative Identity Disorder and Splitting of the Identity Chapter 4: The Relation of Borderline Disorders to Trauma The Zero Process, the Primary Process, and the Secondary Process Revisited Dynamics, Deficits, and Development in Borderline Disorders Repression, Internalization, and Trauma Projective Identification, Identification with the Aggressor, and Splitting of the Identity Chapter 5: Therapeutic Technique in Analyzing Post-Traumatic States Approaching the Zero Process The Relation of the Analysis of the Zero Process to Analysis of Other Phenomena The Central Post-Traumatic Complex Summary Conclusion Glossary References Index