Abstract

ALMEIDA-PRADO, Maria do Carmo Cintra de  and  FERES-CARNEIRO, Terezinha. Sexual abuse, psychological trauma and transgeneration. Interações [online]. 2005, vol.10, n.20, pp. 11-34. ISSN 1413-2907.

The word trauma comes from the Greek and means ‘a wound’. Freud’s work underscored three key moments in the understanding of trauma, all of them involving an economical aspect that characterized it as an excess. Ferenczi further elaborated the theory on trauma and recognized in the origin of trauma an actual traumatic event which is often denied by the adult involved in it. The child, in his/her interaction with an adult, makes use of a language of tenderness, while the adult makes use of a language of passion. In the present paper, we further analyzed these two basic concepts involved in the traumatic event: the confusion of languages and the cumulative trauma. We then relate them to the psychodynamics of the mother, to the transgenerational perspective, and to some particular difficulties for professionals involved in this area. In addition, we introduce the concept of ‘active trauma’ and illustrate it with a discussion of Patty Jenkins’ film entitled Monster.

Keywords : Trauma; Family; Child; Sexual abuse; Transgeneration.

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