Ferenczi's clinical and theoretical conception of trauma: A brief introductory map

In this paper, I am going to limit myself to tracing a map of the principal points in Ferenczi's thinking concerning trauma. Ferenczi's contribution to trauma theory is fundamental, even though up to today - in spite of the recent "Ferenczian Renaissance" - it still remains for many psychoanalysts simply not acknowledged and not considered and, when it is acknowledged and considered, it is frequently misunderstood or reported only in part. Perhaps this is because passages of his theory are extrapolated without knowing his entire clinical theoretical way or because he is quoted through others without the authors having personally read his work. These last ones are typical habits, as we know, to project one's own ideas, especially our prejudices. © 2007 Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis.