MSc in Theoretical Psychoanalytic Studies
PSYCHOANALYTIC PERSPECTIVES ON TRAUMA UNIT
Autumn Term 2012
Coordinator: Dr Lionel Bailly
AIM: To introduce a psychoanalytic model of trauma
OBJECTIVE: By the end of this unit students will have:
- An historical background to modern views on trauma, from railway spine and shell-shock to PTSD and their link with psychoanalytical models
- An understanding of how trauma impacts on the mind
- An awareness of different models of trauma in the Freudian, Independent, Kleinian and Lacanian traditions.
BACKGROUND READING:
"Thinking about trauma", Caroline Garland, in: Understanding Trauma, Caroline Garland Tavistock Clinic series. Duckworth Moodle
Seminar 1
RAILWAY SPINE, PTSD AND BEYOND: A HISTORY OF TRAUMA
Friday 26 October 2.15-3.45pm
Dr Lionel Bailly
Trauma was a prevalent question in the second part of the 19th century. The understanding of trauma moved from an organic to a psychological model up to the development of the Freudian theory. In traumatic and war neuroses the human ego is defending itself from a danger which threatens it from without, writes Freud. We will look at how trauma was perceived at different epochs and how the concept evolved from the views of the 19th century physicians to those of the first psychoanalysts and what are the modern perspectives on trauma today.
ESSENTIAL READING:
Introduction to psychoanalysis and the war neuroses, Sigmund Freud, SE 17 pages: 206-215 PEPWeb/Moodle
‘Counter attack’ - a poem by Siegfried Sassoon Moodle
Seminar 2
THE PLACE OF TRAUMA IN FREUD’S THEORY: REALITY VERSUS FANTASY
Dr Maria Papadima
Saturday 27 October 1.45-3.15pm
In a letter to Fliess on the 21 September 1897 Freud wrote: “I no longer believe in my neurotica …” introducing a first shift in the role of traumatic events in the development of neurosis. More developments were to come and from 'Mourning and Melancholia' to the ‘Wolf Man case study’ and 'Beyond the Pleasure Principle', trauma stayed a rich and complex concept at the heart of Freud’s work. In this seminar, the concept of trauma in Freud’s work will be explored, with an emphasis on the ‘reality versus fantasy’ debate.
ESSENTIAL READING:
Freud, S. (1897). Letter from Freud to Fliess - The Complete Letters of Sigmund Freud to Wilhelm Fliess, 1887-1904, pp. 207-287 PEPWeb/Moodle
Freud, S. (1918) From the history of an infantile neurosis. S.E.17 PEPWeb
SUPPLEMENTARY READING:
Freud, S. (1896) The aetiology of hysteria. S.E. 3 pp.191-221 PEPWeb
Freud, S. (1925) Inhibitions, Symptoms and Anxiety, S.E. 20 pp. 33-36 PEPWeb
Freud, S. (1920) Beyond the Pleasure Principle. S.E. 18 pp. 12-23 PEPWeb
Scott, A. (1996) Feminism and the seductiveness of the ‘real event’. Feminist Review, 28 Moodle
Balint, M. (1969) Trauma and object relationship. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 50, 429-435 PEPWeb/Moodle
Seminar 3
TRAUMA IN THE WORK OF FERENCZI & WINNICOTT
Dr Maria Papadima
Saturday 24 November 11.15-12.45pm
Ferenczi was a medical officer during the First World War and his clinical observations of shell-shocked soldiers led to the development of quite original but also controversial views on trauma. This concept remained at the heart of his clinical concerns and is mentioned in many of his publications. In this seminar Ferenczi’s views will be examined, in the context of ideas on trauma within the independent psychoanalytic tradition.
ESSENTIAL READING:
Ferenczi, S. (1933). Confusion of tongues between adults and the child. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 30: 225-230, 1949 PEPWeb/ Moodle
Winnicott, D. W. (1974) Fear of breakdown. International Review of Psychoanalysis, 1: 103-107 PEPWeb/Moodle
SUPPLEMENTARY READING:
Ferenczi, S. (1931) Child-analysis in the analysis of adults. International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 12: 468-482 PEPWeb/Moodle
Khan, M. (1963) The concept of cumulative trauma. Psychoanalytic study of the child, 18: 286-306 Moodle
Winnicott, D. W. (1960) Ego distortion in terms of true and false self. In ‘The maturational processes and the facilitating environment’ (2003 edition). London: Karnac Moodle
Seminar 4
A LACANIAN MODEL OF TRAUMA
Friday 30 November 12.30-2.00pm
Dr Lionel Bailly
Trauma occurs when, overwhelmed with terror, an individual cannot work through an experience of chaos. Let down by language and the usual psychological defense mechanisms, the subject is left with the raw sensorial memory of the event which he/she will re-experience until it can change format and be stored as a memory. We will examine how concepts developed by Jacques Lacan can contribute to a model of psychological trauma that explain what aspect of an event has been traumatic and can guide the therapist in the treatment of these complex cases.
ESSENTIAL READING:
Bailly, L (2009) Real Symbolic, Imaginary, in Bailly, L. ‘Lacan, A Beginners’ Guide’, One world, Oxford. Moodle
SUPPLEMENTARY READING:
Garland, C. (2004) Traumatic events and their impact on symbolic functioning. In: Levy, S. and Lemma, A. (Eds) The Perversion of Loss: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Trauma (London, Whurr). Moodle
