Abstract
In laying down the building blocks of contemporary trauma theory, Ferenczi asserted that trauma is founded on real events and that it occurs in the interpersonal and intersubjective dynamics of object relations. He stressed the significance of the presence or lack of a trusted person in the post-traumatic situation. After the trauma, the loneliness and later the isolation of the victim represent a serious pathogenic source. In the traumatic situation, the victim and the persecutor/aggressor operate differing ego defense mechanisms. Ferenczi was the first to describe the ego defense mechanism of identification with the aggressor. Ferenczi pointed out the characteristic features of the role of analyst/therapist with which (s)he may assist the patient in working through the trauma, among them being the development of a therapeutic atmosphere based on trust, so that the traumatic experiences can be relived, without which effective therapeutic change cannot be achieved. For the analyst, countertransference, as part of authentic communication, is incorporated into the therapeutic process. These are the key building blocks that are laid down by Ferenczi in his writings and appear in later works on trauma theory.
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Notes
The Hungarian title announced for the lecture at the Wiesbaden conference in September, 1932 was “A felnöttek szenvedélye és hatása a gyermekek szexuális és karakterfejlödésére” (Adult passion and its effect on sexual and character development in children, International Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. XXX, 1949, 225). It was first published as “Sprachverwirrung zwischen den Erwachsenen und dem Kind. Die Sprache der Zärtlichkeit und der Leidenschaft” (Internationale Zeitschrift für Psychoanalyse, 1933, XIX, 5–15). Its first publication in English was as “Confusion of tongues between adults and the child. The language of tenderness and of passion”. (International Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. XXX, 1949, 225–230). The first Hungarian-language publication was in A pszichoanalízis és modern irányzatai (Szerk: Buda Béla, Budapest, Gondolat, 1971, pp. 215–226). It was most recently re-published in Technikai írások (1921–1933). Animula, Budapest, 1997, 102–112.
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1Ph.D., Training and Supervising Analyst, Hungarian Psychoanalytical Association. President of the Sándor Ferenczi Society.
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Mészáros, J. Building Blocks Toward Contemporary Trauma Theory: Ferenczi 's Paradigm Shift. Am J Psychoanal 70, 328–340 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1057/ajp.2010.29
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/ajp.2010.29