You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Ringel, S., & Brandell, J. R. (Eds.). (2012). Trauma: Contemporary directions in theory, practice, and research. Los Angeles, CA: Sage. 259 pp., $52.00.
That extraordinary events such as war or abuse can result in adverse emotional responses is well established (van der Kolk 2007). And yet the etiology of trauma, its impact on psychological and biological functioning, and effective means to mitigate trauma's sometimes crippling effects, have been the subject of controversy in mental health since the late nineteenth century. Do external events alone result in traumatic symptoms, or do there need to be preexisting character defects or constitutional factors in order for symptoms to occur? Can trauma be objectively defined or is there a subjective element to what becomes traumatic for a person? Finally, the way to treat trauma is addressed differently by different schools of thought. Are there biological, cognitive, or dynamic methods, which when applied individually or in some combination will lead to greater success in easing the impact of trauma on the individual and community?
As van der Kolk (2007) and others have pointed out, acknowledging the importance of trauma has not received consistent support since Charcot and Janet, during the nineteenth century, first constructed a theory about trauma as the underlying cause of hysteria. During certain time periods, the deleterious effects of traumatic events have received much attention. At other times trauma has been largely ignored. For example, during World War II Bowlby and Winnicott (Issroff, Reeves, & Hauptman, 2005) were asked by the British government to offer guidance on the potential impact of evacuating children from London. Both men asserted the potentially traumatic effects of separating young children from their parents. Although their recommendations were not fully embraced, their message was clear; separating children from their parents at an early age would have negative psychological consequences. Furthe