ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 addresses the toxic combination of the experiences of slavery and torture through the clinical case of Ousmane. The slavery in which Ousmane grew up was strongly characterized by profound exploitation and the lack of the basic conditions of protection necessary for the development of an integrated mind. Like a world seen in the mirror, this kind of “adaptation” to slavery not only enables Ousmane to resist the extreme experiences of abduction and torture but also deepens his wounds in body and mind. From this case, it is clear that the relational configuration installed at the core of self as a result of slavery and torture is one in which the dynamics of master and slave predominate and that the only primitive emotional endowment to free himself is profound and wild anger. His therapy is conceptualized in three stages, although they have no clear timeline in the recovery, and they shift and overlap continuously: the initial struggle to create a basic sense of safety and control, the central stage addressing the big chapter of the relational theme and connected traumatic experiences, and the last stage of creating support and integration in the community.
