ABSTRACT
“Trauma” comes from the Greek word meaning “injury.” Haynal (1989) describes three characteristics of trauma: (1) It is “linked to frustrated desires,” accentuating the (2) “helplessness” of the individual to achieve them, and it is (3) “situated in the relationship with the other” (p. 316). Freud (1955) said that trauma occurs when the ego is overwhelmed “as a consequence of an extensive breach being made in the protective shield against stimuli” (p. 31). Because each person's experience of trauma is so different, there is much discussion about what may or may not constitute trauma (Furman, 1986; Yorke, 1986). Nevertheless, authors generally agree that a “traumatic event is one in which the person is flooded with intense stimulation that he or she cannot control” (Thompson & Kennedy, 1987, p. 195).
