Presentation

Hello, my name is Saverio Tomasella. I am a Psychoanalyst from France. As an Editor of Trauma and Acute Care, I would like to share some milestones about Trauma and Psychological Traumatism.

It is important to distinguish these two words. Trauma is a Greek name which means injury. A traumatised person is wounded. Then, a psychological traumatism follows the shock. In fact, the trauma produces personal consequences, as deep anxiety, breakdown and repetitive nightmares. The persons are upset by the trauma. They must deal with the accident or the drama they lived, take it into account, understand it, overcome it, if possible, and live differently after it happened to them. So, a traumatism encompasses all these consequences and corresponds to a specific story one can, or could, tell about the drama.

With the development of natural disasters as well as human disasters, we also need to differentiate a trauma from a catastrophe. A disaster leads to several traumas and grieves altogether. The individuals are stricken, as much as their families and communities. Thus, a catastrophe induces several disorders at the same time and for the same person. Of course, these calamities produce severe traumatisms but, moreover, they break the relationship with time. The past disappears completely. The world, as it was before, does not exist anymore. The future seems impossible, and the present looks like a perpetual disaster as if the tragedy were still happening.

Knowing these specificities is particularly significant to conduct the best treatments. With a traumatised person, therapists would better forget the theories they learned at school, and really take care of the human being in front of them. This person is unique. His or her story is also a unique one. They need to be carefully listened to, with great empathy and sincere goodwill. Healing oneself from a trauma or a disaster takes time. Great patience is necessary and, above all, finding again one’s own profound resources, a strong desire for life and vivid creativity.

See video on "Trauma & Acute Care" website