Loss of the Assumptive World: A Theory of Traumatic Loss

by Kauffman,Jeffrey

• ISBN13: 9781583913130
• ISBN10: 1583913130
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-06-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

In the face of trauma, our assumptive world -- the world experienced as normal or predictable -- is seriously disrupted. This disruption, this "loss of our assumptive world" functions as a metaphor for traumatic loss in this volume, providing extraordinary insight into the psychology of trauma, loss and change.Loss of the Assumptive Worldbuilds on Ronnie Janoff-Bulman's new psychology of trauma and Colin Murray Parkes' principle of psychosocial change. It is a concept that allows for the close examination of the psychological disturbance that takes place in the wake of a traumatic event. The authors in this collection examine the loss of the assumptive world and its reconstruction from diverse theoretical perspectives including constructivist and narrative theory, Kohutian self-psychology, betrayal theory, psychoanalysis and coping theory. The diversity of perspectives and distinct interpretations illuminates the loss of the assumptive world concept and its clinical usefulness whilearticulating a spirit of hope and resilience in the face of traumatic loss.

Table of Contents

Note from the Editor	vii
Series Editor's Foreword	ix
Foreword	xi
Ronnie Janoff-Bulman
Acknowledgment	xiii
Introduction	1	(12)
part 1. Constructing Meaning in a World Broken by the Traumatic Loss of the Assumptive World
Meaning, Self, and Transcendence
Crises of Meaning in Trauma and Loss	13	(18)
Irene Smith Landsman
The Meaning of Your Absence	31	(18)
Traumatic Loss and Narrative Reconstruction
Robert A. Neimeyer
Luis Botella
Olga Herrero
Meritxell Pacheco
Sara Figueras
Luis Alberto Werner-Wildner
How Could God?	49	(6)
Loss and the Spiritual Assumptive World
Kenneth Doka
Questionable Assumptions About Assumptive Worlds	55	(16)
Tom Attig
part 2. Relationships with Self and Others
The Harm of Trauma	71	(12)
Pathological Fear, Shattered Assumptions, or Betrayal?
Anne P DePrince
Jennifer J. Freyd
The Assumptive World in the Context of Transference Relationships	83	(12)
A Contribution to Grief Theory
Daniel Liechty
A Self-Psychological Study of Experiences of Near Loss of One's Own Life or the Dying or Death of a Close Relative	95	(22)
The Shattered-Fantasy Model of Traumatic Loss
Richard B. Ulman
Maria T. Miliora
part 3. Psychological Processes
Treatment of Violated Assumptive Worlds with EMDR	117	(10)
Roger M. Solomon
Coping with Challenges to Assumptive Worlds	127	(12)
Charles A. Corr
Beyond the Beveled Mirror	139	(32)
Mourning and Recovery from Childhood Maltreatment
Sandra L. Bloom
The ``Curse'' of Too Good a Childhood	171	(22)
Therese A. Rando
The Assumptive World of Children	193	(12)
Linda Goldman
part 4. Traumatic Loss and What Cannot Be Said
Safety and the Assumptive World	205	(8)
A Theory of Traumatic Loss
Jeffrey Kauffman
What Cannot Be Remembered or Forgotten	213	(8)
Henry Krystal
Parting Words	221	(16)
Trauma, Silence, and Survival
Cathy Caruth
Postscript	237	(6)
Colin Murray Parkes
Index	243