Chapter 12: Discussion of the Various Contributions

I should like first of all to call attention to the great variety of views presented by the contributors to this book. A few examples will suffice as illustration. Dr. Pollock's chapter focuses on object loss. This was natural, since his major, continuing interest over a period of many years has been the psychologic effects of object loss. Dr. Steele, by contrast, focuses on the traumatic consequences of physical abuse in childhood. It would have been better for his patient if she had lost her parents, rather than having to live with them for 20 years. Dr. Galenson, an eminent researcher in the field of early child development, told of a case to demonstrate the traumatic effects of separation at age 4 on the development of a sense of self. Dr. McDougall, in turn, emphasized the pathogenic effect of isolated, strangulated affect on bodily tissues. Dr. Ornstein addressed the topic of the psychic trauma of the Holocaust from the viewpoint initiated by the late Dr. Kohut. Dr. Jucovy spoke to the same subject from the point of view of conflict and defense. Each of the contributors to this book illuminated the topic of the reconstruction of trauma from the angle of special interest and importance to them. Each brought to the subject a special and different expertise. Therefore, in assessing and correlating these contributions it is important