Trauma by omission: Treating complex attachment dynamics in a Chinese woman

Abstract

This paper presents a case of “trauma by omission” as a product of the attachment process. The absence of intimate and specific recognition and response by the caretaker of a child can create, by their omission, a “freeze” version of the fight/flight/freeze trauma response. The frozen moments, then dissociated, can become confusion and paralysis at the cusp of adulthood. This state is illustrated in the case below of a 23-year-old Chinese woman being treated by a 29-year-old Chinese male psychoanalytic fellow. The role of cultural context in “omission” is highlighted regarding development and treatment, which is taking place in a Communist society with a recent violent history of extinguishing individuality, modifying how attachment and individuation are expressed. A relational/interpersonal treatment orientation is applied and advocated at this intersection of individual and social realities. This paper contributes to attachment theory by raising awareness of how its many forms and outcomes may or may not be deemed healthy and functional.

Key words:

• psychoanalysis
• relational theory
• attachment theory
• trauma
• China
• female

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Judith Rosenberger

Authors

Judith Rosenberger, PhD, LCSW, is a professor of human behavior and clinical practice in the graduate school of social work at City University of New York, a training analyst with the Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society, and in private practice in New York City.

Han Feng

Han Feng, MA, Palo Alto University counseling program, is a member of China–American Psychoanalysis Alliance, and in private practice in Beijing, China.