Psychodynamic Theory Of Trauma

Trauma is the experience that begins with an exposure to a non-normative or extremely distressing event or chain of events that potentially disrupts the self.
McCann, & Pearlman, (1990)
This essay will explore the intra-psychic psychodynamic approach and the socio-ecological theory of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory of development. It will examine how individuals recover from trauma when a loved one becomes chronically ill or deceases.
Pierre Janet, 1889, suggested that intense emotional reactions make events traumatic by interfering with the integration of the experience into existing memory schemes which cause memories of particular events to be dissociated from consciousness and to be stored as visceral sensations such as anxiety
Herman (1992, 1997) distinguishes between two types of trauma, “simple” and “complex”. Psychodynamic therapy tends to be more adept at addressing “complex” PTSD symptoms as described by Herman (1997). Complex trauma is the experience of prolonged, repeated trauma such as child abuse. Herman believes that the psychological effect of the traumatic experience depends on many variables such as the extent of the trauma, if the abuse was repeated or just once, if the level of adjustment of the individual prior to the trauma and the strength of the trauma. Symptoms related to complex PTSD include difficulties with social and interpersonal functioning, overall adjustment, personality disorders and comorbid disorders such as depression and anxiety. Research supports the hypothesis that there are substantial differences in mental health between people who experienced one-time trauma and those with cumulative histories of trauma (Krupnick, Green, Stockton, Goodman, Corcoran & Petty., 2004; Zlotnick, Zakriski, Shea, Costello, Begin, Pearlstein., et al.
Defences are psychological means of dealing with wishes, needs, affects or impulses that the individual experiences as unpleasant or inappropriate (Paulhus, Fridhandler, & Hayes, 1997; Perry & Cooper, 1986); they may be regarded as mechanisms for maintaining psychological homeostasis (Vaillant, 1992). High levels of torture were significantly connected to a reduced use of mature defences, however, high levels were not significantly linked to use of immature defences. Immature reality–distorting and immature reality–escaping defences were related with high incidence of PTSD symptoms. This proposes that while victims with pre-morbid access to higher-level defences may cope with trauma better and consequently exhibit fewer symptoms Schottenbauer, Glass, Arnkoff, Tendick, & Gray; than patients who normally rely on lower-level defences. Dissociation is a defence mechanism which includes emotional numbing, denial, forgetting, social withdrawal and freezing and is associated to negative outcomes in the long-term (Krenichyn, Saegert, & Evans, 2001). Engelhard, van den Hout, Kindt, Arntz, and Schouten (2003) discovered that dissociation during a stressful event such as pregnancy loss was connected to acute PTSD symptoms and that this was mediated by self-reported memory fragmentation and thought suppression. During this event, dissociation was predicted by previous low control over emotions,