Ferenczi’s Confusion of Tongues Theory of Trauma: A Relational/ Neurobiological Perspective

Course Description: 

In this 10-week course, Arnold Wm. Rachman, PhD and Clara Mucci, PhD will introduce and examine , Ferenczi’s Confusion of Tongue Theory, which they consider to be an alternative to Freud’s  theory of the Oedipal Complex and that they regard to be the first major paradigm shift for psychoanalysis. They will present the historical development of Ferenczi’s ideas, the first Relational approach to trauma disorder, which is seen as originating from actual relational disturbances in family interactions, as opposed to Freud’s biologically based stimulus of the Oedipal Complex.

They will also demonstrate applications of Ferenczi’s ideas to current clinical situations and consider traumatic development and its enactment from modern relational and neurobiological perspectives. They assert that Ferenczi’s early relational perspectives opened up what is now referred to as the two-person psychology orientation of trauma analysis.

Course Outline: 

1. Ferenczi’s Confusion of Tongues Paradigm: The Origin of Trauma Theory in Psychoanalysis.
2. Confusion of Tongues Theory as a paradigm Shift for Psychoanalysis
3. The Trauma Analysis of Elizabeth Severn:” R.N.” in Ferenczi’s Clinical Diary (1988).
4. A Contemporary Trauma Analysis: The Case of “W”, an Outsider Artist.
5. Ferenczi’s Confusion of Tongue Theory and the Development of Relational Analysis.
6. Traumatic Developments and Complex PTSD.
7. Three levels of Trauma of Human Agency.
8. Two Paths to Psychopathology: Dissociation vs Repression.
9. Enactments and right brain unconscious communication.
10. Therapy with the Traumatized Patient: Trauma and Human Agency.

 Learning Objectives  

1. Understand the origin and development of Sandor Ferenczi’s Confusion of Tongues Theory, which opened a new relational paradigm in the psychoanalysis of trauma, as opposed to Freud ‘s view of trauma as biologically driven, unconscious stimuli.
2. Expand the boundaries of psychoanalytic theory and treatment, to include an integrated two person perspectives.
3. To be able to distinguish and evaluate in the psychodynamic diagnosis of the various levels of traumatization, the consequences for mind and body from using the neurobiological perspective, the concept of the internalization of the persecutor, or the revictimizing dynamics of human harm at both the individual and collective level.

About Presenters: 

Arnold Wm. Rachman, PhD is a faculty member, and Senior Supervisor and Training Analyst at the Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society & Institute. A graduate of The Fellowship Training Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis of the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health, our predecessor institute, he was a Senior Supervisor and Training Analyst. He is also a Senior Supervisor and Training Analyst on the Faculty of the Postdoctoral Program in Psychoanalysis at New York University, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at New York Medical Center. As  one of the earliest psychoanalysts to credit Ferenczi’s contribution to psychoanalytic discourse in the United States, Dr. Rachman has taught and is on the Board of Directors of the Sandor Ferenczi Center. The New School for Social Research, NYC. He is an Honorary Member of The Sandor Ferenczi Society, Budapest, Hungary.  A prolific author in addition to being a dedicated psychoanalytic educator and clinician, Dr. Rachman has published 14 books to date. His latest publication is, Psychoanalysis and Society’s Neglect of Sexual Abuse of Children, Youth and Adults: Re-addressing Freud’s Original Theory of Sexual Abuse and Trauma. London: Routledge, (2022).  His upcoming book co-authored with Dr. Clara Mucci, Sandor Ferenczi’s Confusion of Tongues Theory of Trauma:Relational/Neurological Perspective., London: Routledge, is to be published in the spring.

Clara Mucci, PhD is a graduate of Emory University in English Literature and Psychoanalysis. She also graduated from Genoa University, Italy, and  the University of Chieti, Italy, Specialization in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, (SIPP) in Milan, Italy. She was a full professor in English Literature and is an expert in Shakespeare. She is currently a professor, teaching Dynamic Psychology at the University of Bergamo, Italy. Besides being a member of numerous professional international groups, she is a faculty member at Societa Italiana Psicoanalisis e Psicoterapia – Sandor Ferenczi. Author of numerous monographs on Shakespeare and psychoanalysis, her major publications in English include Beyond Individual Collective Trauma (Karnac, 2013). She is the co-author with Dr. Rachman of the upcoming book, Sandor Ferenczi’s Confusion of Tongues  Theory  of Trauma: Relational Neurobiological Perspectives. (London, Routledge, 2022).

Cost:  General Public: $325, PPSI Members: $225, Students: $125

Make check payable to: The Postgraduate Psychoanalytic Society-Institute, (PPSI)

Mail to: PPSI, PO Box 2031, Madison Square Station, New York, NY 10010

For more information, Please Contact:

Nobuko Meaders, LCSW, Telephone: 212-228-6988

Email: Nobuko Meaders [email protected],

[email protected]

MPG Consulting NYC is an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Social Workers (#0119) and for Licensed Psychoanalysts (3P-0034). MPG Consulting, LCSW, PLLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health

To Register: Please print and fill the registration information and mail it with your payment to the PO Box address listed below.