Repetition Compulsion: Understanding the Cognitive Basis By Maria Agit, Ed.D. Repetition Compulsion: Understanding the Cognitive Basis studies the effect of trauma on cognition. Specifically, the author¿s focus is on visual memory. Maria Agit, Ed.D. writes to refute contemporary literature on cognition and memory. A patient who has experienced trauma struggles to differentiate between daily life and the trauma. Unable to separate the old patterns of trauma with the new stimuli, the patient cannot react appropriately. The root of this inability is the patient¿s impaired visual memory and failure to symbolize. This affects the patient¿s perception and recall of a transformed representation of knowledge. Agit¿s work with trauma and loss, as well as her studies with cognitive processes, give her fresh insight into new therapies. Trauma can only subside when the individual embraces the memories and realizes that the separation has happened and cannot be undone. Therapy with cognitive processing and understanding of the hippocampus allows the patient to recognize the new environment ¿ and therefore create new patterns of meaning and behavior. About the Author Maria Agit, Ed.D. is an accomplished psychotherapist. She practices both independently and at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, in Boston. She is also a part-time lecturer in Psychology. She has a particular interest in cognitive science and psychoanalysis. A former gymnast, Agit¿s current hobbies include reading, writing, gourmet cooking, and outdoor activities. Her maternal ancestors have included powerful women who have inspired Agit¿s curiosity and desire for achievement beyond all the odds. Her paternal ancestors include pioneer men who came to America to work the fields and a warm Italian community in New Jersey. Agit has the gift of compassion and passionately works to help the less fortunate.