The collapse of a structure: A structural approach to trauma

Applying an analytic approach to the concept of trauma, the authors differentiate trauma from other stress disorders and define trauma as the collapse of the structure of self along all its referential planes, resulting from the encounter of a catastrophic threat and a chaotic response, producing the unique traumatic experience. The post-traumatic state is conceptualized as a reorganizing transitional state, aimed at restoring autonomy, which can proceed by encapsulation only. The post-traumatic stress disorder is regarded as the manifest clinical syndrome of the post-traumatic state. By providing a systematic conceptual framework, the analytic structural approach to trauma allows clearer guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of traumatized patients.