Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I: A General Introduction to the Nature of Trauma

1 On the Development of the Concept of Trauma: Definition, Elements, and Relevant Terms

Bernd Huppertz

2 The Psychiatric Approach, the Subgroups of Posttraumatic Syndromes, and the Neurobiology of Stress and Trauma

Bernd Huppertz

Part II: Dimensions of Trauma

3 Development and Trauma: Recapitulation of Traumatic Themes in Early Interaction

Louise Newman

4 Historical and Intergenerational Trauma: Radioactive Transmission of the Burdens of History—Destructive versus Creative Transmission

Yolanda Gampel

5 The Reality of Horror: Psychic Survival in the Face of Massive Trauma

Louise Newman

6 The Role of Cumulative Micro-trauma in Psychic Life: An Abridged Description of Injurious Relational Functioning

Margaret Crastnopol

7 Building Resilience: The Example of Ambiguous Loss

Pauline Boss

Part III: Social Psychological Aspects of the Totalitarian Communist System

8 Political Psychology, Effects of Historical Processes, and Cultural Trauma

Bernd Huppertz

9 Sociohistorical Overview of Germany: The Development of the Federal Republic of Germany (GFR) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR)

Bernd Huppertz

10 The False Self

Adrian Sutton

11 Totalitarian and Post-totalitarian Matrices: Reflective Citizens Facing Social-Psychic Retreats

Marina Mojovic

12 A Post-totalitarian Group: A Collective False Self or Posttraumatic Growth?

Helena Klímová

Part IV: Clinical Material

Bernd Huppertz

13 Case History Summaries

14 The Case of Mr. Q

15 The Case of Mrs. U

16 The Case of Mr. R

17 The Case of Mrs. O

18 The Case of Mrs. P

19 The Case of Mrs. M

20 The Case of Mrs. N

21 The Case of Mrs. B

Part V: Trauma Treatment Grounded inPsychodynamic-Psychoanalytic Approaches

22 Challenges of Treatment with Traumatized Individuals from a Modern Freudian Perspective

Anna Balas

23 Trauma and Inner Reality: A Kleinian and Post-Kleinian Perspective

Mariângela Mendes de Almeida

24 Trauma Treatment from the Winnicottian Perspective

Adrian Sutton

25 Theoretical and Clinical Implications of the Concept of the Zero Process: An Ego-Psychology Perspective

Joseph Fernando

26 Extreme Traumatization: Conceptualization and Treatment from the Perspective of Object Relations and Modern Research

Sverre Varvin

27 Contemporary Self Psychology and Its Treatment of Traumatized Patients

Koichi Togashi and Amanda Kottler

28 Relational Psychoanalysis and Trauma: The Significance of Witnessing and Containing

Adrienne Harris

29 Trauma Work via the Lens of Attachment Theory: Gaslight—Reality Distortion by Familiar Attachment Figures

Orit Badouk Epstein

Part VI: Arts Therapies

30 Embodied Mentalizing or “Meaning-Making” in Music Therapy with Traumatized Children

Jacqueline Z. Robarts

31 Trauma Work in Play and Drama Therapy: The Importance of the Theatre of Resilience

Sue Jennings

Part VII: Other Trauma Treatment Approaches

32 Mentalization and Its Role in Processing Trauma

Nicolas Lorenzini, Chloe Campbell, and Peter Fonagy

33 The Treatment of Trauma: The Neurosequential Model and “Take Two”

Annette Jackson, Margarita Frederico, Allison Cox, and Carlina Black

Part VIII: Summary and Outlook

34 Conclusion

Bernd Huppertz

Index

About the Editor and Contributors

About the Author

Bernd Huppertz, MD, is a physician, psychotherapist (child, adolescent, and adult), psychiatrist, neurologist, and former brain researcher. He has had a private practice in Germany since 1998. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, fellow of the International College of Psychosomatic Medicine, and founder of the Institute for Comparative Psychotherapy. In 2002, he qualified to teach further education in psychiatry and psychotherapy (German Medical Association). He has widely published in the fields of psychiatry, psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, and psychosomatic medicine, and is editor of Psychotherapy in the Wake of War: Discovering Multiple Psychoanalytic Traditions.

Reviews

Essential: Approaches to Psychic Trauma is an exhaustive volume describing the various elements of trauma and its treatments. The first strength of the book lies in its organization. The reader is first given a brief history of the concept of trauma and its various therapeutic approaches, followed by in-depth discussion of the different types and presentations of trauma, succeeded by an overview of the current approaches to treatment—including art therapy and the neurosequential model of therapeutics (NMT), which seeks to address the biological developmental changes that happen to children after trauma. The chapter on NMT is an especially valuable one as hospitals, clinics, schools, and communities are increasingly recognizing the importance of considering the role that traumatic and abusive environments play in child development. The second strength of the book lies in the clinical material, which includes eight case studies of traumatic experiences and treatment. While this book will not be helpful for undergraduates or non-clinical graduate students, it is a necessary addition to collections serving clinical programs and current practitioners.
*Choice Reviews*

Bernd Huppertz’s new compendium on trauma is breathtaking. An all-star group of contributors brings a breadth and depth of understanding that will inform all therapists who strive to help those who suffer in an increasingly traumatizing world.
*David Scharff, MD, International Psychotherapy Institute, and chair, International Psychoanalytic Association Committee on Couple and Family Psychoanalysis*

This monumental book is a tribute to Huppertz’s unstinting dedication to comprehensively examine the nature of different kinds of trauma. Illustrated with a diversity of theories and techniques for understanding how history and personalities affect the individual, it is ideal for practitioners of all levels.
*Frances Thomson-Salo, associate professor, University of Melbourne, Australia*