Loss of the Assumptive World: A Theory of Traumatic Loss / Edition 1

by Jeffrey Kauffman

Overview

The assumptive world concept is a psychological principle of the conservation of human reality or "culture" - it is a lens for seeing the psychological disturbances that occur in times of change. In this collection, the authors examine the assumptive world from diverse theoretical perspectives, providing the reader with an array of different viewpoints illuminating the concept and its clinical usefulness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781583913130
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/28/2002
Series:	Series in Trauma and Loss
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jeffrey Kauffman is a psychotherapist in private practice in Philadelphia and an instructor at the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. He specializes in the treatment of grief and trauma.

Table of Contents

Note from the Editor
Series Editor's Foreword
Foreword, Ronnie Janoff-Bulman
Acknowledgment
Introduction, Jeffrey Kauffman
Constructing Meaning in a World Broken by the Traumatic Loss of the Assumptive World: Meaning, Self, and Transcendence
1. Crisis of Meaning in Trauma and Loss, Irene Smith Landsman
2. The Meaning of Your Absence: Traumatic Loss and Narrative Reconstruction Robert A. Neimeyer, Luis Botella, Olga Herrero, Meritxell Pacheco, Sara Figueras and Luis Alberto Werner-Wildner
3. How Could God? Loss and the Spiritual Assumptive World, Kenneth Doka
4. Questionable Assumptions About Assumptive Worlds, Tom Attig
Relationships With Self and Others
5. The Harm of Trauma: Pathological Fear, Shattered Assumptions, or Betrayal? Anne P. DePrince and Jennifer J. Freyd
6. The Assumptive World in the Context of Transference Relationships: A Contribution to Grief Theory, Daniel Liechty
7. A Self-Psychological Study of Experiences of Near Loss of Life One's Own Life or the Dying or Death of a Close Relative: The Shattered-Fantasy Model of Traumatic Loss, Richard B. Ulman and Maria T. Miliora
Psychological Processes
8. Treatment of Violated Assumptive Worlds with EMDR, Roger M. Solomon
9. Coping with Challenges to Assumpitive Worlds, Charles A. Corr10. Beyond the Beveled Mirror: Mourning and Recovery from Childhood Maltreatment, Sandra L. Bloom
11. The "Curse" of Too Good a Childhood, Therese A. Rando
12. The Assumptive World of Children, Linda Goldman
Traumatic Loss and What Cannot Be Said
13. Safety and the Assumptive World: A Theory of Traumatic Loss, Jeffrey Kauffman
14. What Cannot Be Remembered or Forgotten, Henry Krystal
15. Parting Words: Trauma, Silence and Survival, Cathy Caruth
Postscript by Colin Murray Parkes
Index

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Nicholas Greco IV, MS, BCETS, CATSM, FAAETS (C3 Education and Research, Inc.)
Description: This book is a successful attempt to examine the loss of our normal or predictable world (the assumptive world) after experiencing a traumatic event. The books covers various theoretical perspectives including Kohutian self-psychology, betrayal theory, psychoanalysis, and coping theory.
Purpose: The purpose is to provide a better understanding of the assumptive world, to provide a spirit of hope and resilience in the face of traumatic loss, and to share diverse perspectives within the field of traumatology. As I read this book, I noted the symptoms I have seen in many PTSD patients — the feeling of having no future, being unable to plan ahead, and having the overall sense that one is no longer secure. The implications for clinical use are evident in this book and all clinicians treating PTSD patients should read it.
Audience: The book is intended mainly for clinical psychologists and mental health therapists; however, advanced graduate students may benefit as well. The contributing authors are credible authorities.
Features: The book is philosophical and psychological and gives the reader much to think about through the many well-written chapters. The questions raised about the assumptive world, the relationships with self and others, the various psychological processes such as EMDR, and the overall question of one's own feeling of what is safe and normal truly provide insights that are rarely discussed in such a professional manner. I liked the prevailing theme of the book — the loss of our normal, predictable world in the face of trauma as this is so true when one considers the current state of affairs.
Assessment: This book will make readers ponder their own existence and question their own definition of the assumptive world. The applicability of this book is evident and will be of considerable benefit to mental health professionals treating patients with PTSD.

Doody's Review Service

"The chapters in this collection build on theories of the psychology of trauma and psychosocial chnage to discuss psychological disturbance that occurs after a traumatic loss."
"The assumptive world is our guide as we organize ourselves and our understanding of the world around us. Trauma attacks those assumptions. This book will help us bridge trauma by using the assumptive world even when it is under attack by the trauma that attacks us." — The World Pastoral Care Center, Resources Hotline, September 2002
"A perfect text for an anxious time...an excellent addition to the literature on trauma. It will be helpful in understanding our clients as well as our responses to world events." — Clinical Social Work Journal
"The richness of this book for the reader is in seeing the same concept from a number of points of view." — Bereavement Care

From the Publisher

3 Stars from Doody