ABSTRACT
Historically, psychoanalytic contributions to the treatment of the traumatic neuroses have come from two sources: applications of theory and new clinical generalizations. Concerted attention to the disorder (currently termed post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) tends to be episodic depending on the intermittent nature of catastrophe itself. Thus, one source of psychoanalytic contribution is an updating with regard to more recent theoretical developments in the field. Thus, for example, Abraham (1919) discusses early infantile states and their relationship to the traumatic disorder; Kardiner (1947) observes and applies an adaptive point of view suggested by the ego psychologists; Fox (1974) and Parson (1984) apply some concepts in self-psychology; and Brende (1982) and DeFazio (1984) find useful application of object relations theory.
