ABSTRACT
In June of 2002, a Mormon youth of fourteen, Elizabeth Smart, was abducted from a tightly knit family living in a Utah suburb in the United States. Elizabeth was abducted by Brian David Mitchell, who was looking for a sexual partner. He sexually abused her all through the captivity. She became bound to her captors through the Confusion of Tongues trauma. Ferenczi described it as the victim forming a bond with the abuser through the “terrorism of suffering.” The victim uses the defense mechanisms which the Confusion of Tongues triggers in order to maintain a sense of self cohesion in the light of experiencing the suffering of abuse and continuing trauma. Nine months after the abduction, she was found alive, in the company of her kidnappers, about 18 miles from her home. She was in a dissociated state, but was able to make contact when a policewoman identified her as Elizabeth Smart. After returning home, her path to recovery involved contemplation and self-reflection, conversations with her family; and recreation and contemplative time with her grandfather. She was able to graduate from high school, then college. In addition, she married and used her trauma experience to help others.
