title: An Instance of Emotional Absence of a Father Traumatized by War-Clinical Material and Musical Illustration.
abstract: In his minor essay from 1914, Some Reflections on Schoolboy Psychology, Freud placed immense significance upon the father-son relationship as enabling or inhibiting the individual quest towards a mature, separate, and healthy development. In this essay, I will explore Freud's observations to illuminate the journey taken by Assaff, a 34-year old man who, during the early stages of his adolescence, had a father who was emotionally absent due a traumatic experience during his military service in the Israeli Defense Forces. Through transference work, the impact of the emotional absence will be shown. I will demonstrate how the boy was able unconsciously to use the music of Tommy, a rock opera by the British band The Who, as a transitional object. I will show how that piece of music provided Assaff with the sense of hope that helped during the darker times of his adolescent.
authors.affiliation: Weisfeld School of Social Work at Ba-Ilan University, Israel.
authors.forename: Rony
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alfandary
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D000328:Adult; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D004644:Emotions; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology*; D005619:Freudian Theory; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009146:Music / Q000523:psychology*; D066233:Psychology, Developmental / Q000379:methods; D012917:Social Adjustment