The Shattered Self: A Psychoanalytic Study of Trauma [Paperback]

Richard B. Ulman (Author), Doris Brothers (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0881631744 | ISBN-13: 978-0881631746 | Publication Date: July 1, 1993

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"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

 

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Routledge (July 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881631744
• ISBN-13: 978-0881631746
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,298,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Shattered Self, May 26, 2006

By 

cortezhill - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Shattered Self: A Psychoanalytic Study of Trauma (Hardcover)

The role of trauma in psychopathology, including the meaning of traumatic experiences in relation to fantasies, has engaged psychoanalysts from Freud on. In The Shattered Self, Richard Ulman and Doris Brothers employ the principles of psychoanalytic self psychology to arrive at a new understanding of trauma. Utilizing a unique clinical research population of rape and incest victims and Vietnam combat veterans, they argue that trauma results from real occurences that have, as their unconscious meaning, the shattering of "central organizing fantasies" of self in relation to selfobject. It is the shattering and faulty restoration of such archaic narcissistic fantasies, Ulman and Brothers argue, that gain expression in the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PSTD). Taking issue with the current DSM III classification of PSTD as an anxiety disorder, the author argues, on the basis of their empirical findings, that the numbing and reexperiencing characteristic of the syndrome are in fact symptoms of dissociation.

Prefacing their reconceptualization of trauma with a thorough review of the literature from Freud, Ferenczi, and Federn through recent contributions to PTSD, Ulman and Brothers proceed to outline an innovative treatment approach to trauma victims based on their self-psychological theory. Then, in three in depth case studies, they demonstrate how psychoanalytic therapy informed by this theory can overcome the effects of trauma through the transformation of shattered fantasies in the intersubjective context of the transference-countertransference neurosis.

Being at once a record of a unique research project integrating clinical data from different types of trauma victims, an important contribution to our understanding of posttraumatic stress disorder, and a thoughtful elaboration of Heinz Kohut's seminal insights about self experience, The Shattered Self is an example of clinically consequential theorizing about a socially important population. It will be read and utilized by psychoanalysis, psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers alike. And it will be valued not only for advancing a powerful new theory of trauma, but for clarifying the conceptual and therapeutic issues at stake in any theory of trauma.
--- from book's dustjacket