Abstract

ZORNIG, Silvia Abu-Jamra  and  LEVY, Lídia. Child searching for window: maternal function and trauma. Estilos clin. [online]. 2006, vol.11, n.20, pp.28-37. ISSN 1415-7128.

This paper intends to discuss the relationship between trauma and maternal function. From a Freudian perspective, one can think of trauma as structural, while Winnicott indicates that the concept of trauma can be related to a rupture of maternal care or to poor environmental holding. Based on a clinical case of an adopted child who had a very difficult infancy, we would like to reflect upon psychoanalytic concepts related to the importance of early relationships for the constitution of the child’s subjectivity.

Keywords : Maternal function; Trauma; Early separation; Late adoption; Psychoanalysis.