ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how psychoanalytically-informed assessment interviews can be used to get a sense of the impact of traumatic events and an idea of the individual they have affected. Whatever its particular nature, the interaction between the event and the individual is always complex and getting a view of the ensuing psychological configurations is the basis for reasoning out subsequent therapies. Kessler et al. report that 60% of men and 50% of women of a sample representative of the USA's general population will experience at least one significant traumatic event in their lifetimes. 'Pre-morbid' motivations clearly influence the rate of self-exposure to traumatic events and the vulnerability to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is very difficult for the traumatised and disrupted individual to return to the pre-traumatic adjustment and identity. The violence of certain traumatic situations can make it very difficult to regain a sense of equilibrium.
