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At this time of global meltdown, it is essential that clinicians seriously engage with the two-way dynamic between culture and psyche. This book discusses the treatment of trauma (PTSD) and the pathways to healing via metaphor. The authors hope that the insights that emerge can be applied across cultures. The backdrop and ‘wisdom’ in this book emanates from global wars and centuries of disharmony which include ethnic genocides of unimaginable nature and scale. The book combines clinical research with the Hero mythology as expounded by Joseph Campbell. This offers an exploration of the concept of the abyss which, when confronted and traversed by the Hero, links to the horrors endured in trauma and which therefore is a concept that has resonance for all cultures.
Wilson is a professor of psychology at Cleveland State University and an expert in PTSD, about which he has published widely. He is also co-founder and past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), a Diplomat and Fellow of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and a Fellow of the American Institute of Stress. Lindy is a clinical professor in psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and a training and supervizing analyst at the Cincinnati Psychoanalytic Institute. Their broad experience is evident in this work.
The abyss is the shattering moment which changes the personality forever. In order to return from this experience, there needs to be a Nurturing Guide (NG). Focusing on the return, the authors elaborate on Joseph Campbell's Hero-Survivor mythology. There is a dense table about post trauma transformation revolving round the abyss experience, including a column for the Zone of Danger (ZD) (the trauma); a column for the Helpers (NG's); a column for Functional Tools (FT) and a column for the Homecoming (HC). There are long lists of possibilities below each of these headings. A further table illustrates Ten Phases of Linguistic Transformat