Cosmos, Cosmetics, and Trauma

Abstract The clinical case I will present is intentionally without substantial theoretical references as it is meant to be a tribute entirely focused not only on Philip Bromberg’s thought, but also on his writing style and on the many emotions and much wisdom that are expressed in his texts, sometimes explicitly, sometimes implicitly. Briefly, I would like to pay an entirely personal tribute to Bromberg the analyst/poet whom I have known—not for long, but very intensely—whom I have loved very much, whom I miss, and who continues to inspire me every day in my analytic work. In this article, I also refer to an active mode of “knowing” patients that I have developed over the past twenty years, which consists of miming them—not in their presence—in the attempt to get in touch with what their bodies and expressive movements leave on my body. I have learned a great deal from this form of implicit relational knowing (as Daniel Stern would have called it) and I am glad to share it with the readers of this article. Finally, I would like to sincerely thank Velleda Ceccoli and Jean Petrucelli for giving me such a valuable opportunity to remember Philip Bromberg.