Downloads

---

The Warrior and the Disabled: Archetypes and Metaphor in Treating Trauma

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is increasing among veterans because of an increasing number of enlistees seeking refuge in the military system for relief from complex trauma. Childhood dissociative defenses generate a search for control and predictability while also leading to elevated risk taking, making military service attractive and increasing the likelihood of retraumatization and complex PTSD. A phenomenological methodology is used to explorewar-related archetypes and investigate their usefulness in explaining what experts call characterological faults caused by trauma to a warrior. Current approaches focused on symptom elimination do not fully explain the variety of psychosocial defenses that are employed by veterans with complex PTSD. This study investigates the metaphoric capacity of archetypes associated with complex trauma as they appear in mythology to identify types of psychological defenses and states in complex war-related trauma. The research further seeks to understand the relationship between the archetypal energies of the anima or animus that arise in complex trauma and early attachment wounding. Metaphor is considered as a valid method to see through to the underlying mythopoetic motif of the trauma sufferer’s experience, including foundational aspects of the underlying attachment style structure. This research investigates whether or not archetypal, mythological motifs illuminate the psychological defenses against ego annihilation in complex PTSD. Also considered is the use of archetypal or metaphorical themes to help illuminate and explain the dissociative process of complex trauma. The study proposes the use of a depth-psychological technique to shed light on the factors that aid in healing of those who suffer from complex trauma and the dissociative symptoms that create relational difficulties.