ABSTRACT

The Confusion of Tongues theory of trauma can be seen as Ferenczi's commentary on the theoretical and clinical implications of the Ferenczi/Severn analysis. This formulation was Ferenczi's understanding of the intellectual, emotional, and interpersonal issues involved in performing a trauma analysis with a severely disturbed analysand. It includes his challenges, successes, and limitations in analyzing Severn. A full description of the Confusion of Tongues theory of trauma has been outlined. The present discussion will focus on the Ferenczi/Severn analysis contribution to the development of the theory and its clinical methodology. Ferenczi's clinical experience as the analyst of difficult cases helped prepare him to analyze Severn, but, Severn was not the only trauma case. In Ferenczi's Clinical Diary he discussed a series of trauma cases which contributed to the emerging Confusion of Tongues theory. Severn's analysis was a landmark in psychoanalytic history because its focus was understanding and retrieving her childhood traumas.