"It was like in the cartoons": From memory to traumatic memory and back

This article presents a case summary in which short-term therapy was used with a survivor of a suicide bombing in Jerusalem, Israel. Using the narrative reconstruction technique, we tried to reconstruct a full, organized, and coherent narrative of the trauma, including associated feelings and thoughts. Information regarding trauma-related and early childhood memories emerged. Analysis of this material was made according to the "Levels of Trauma" model. The model suggests that PTSD symptoms are the result of impact on different mental functions ranging from neurological and learning systems to cognitive and psychodynamic processes. Additionally, the same material is analyzed from a psychoanalytically oriented perspective, centered on a self psychology perspective and intersubjective processes involved.