The ‚Manchu‛ Comes Home. Narrative of An Early Psychotherapy with a Vietnam Combat Veteran

• Main Author: Edward Tick
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Fondazione Nuto Revelli 2020-12-01
• Series: Close Encounters in War Journal
• Subjects: ptsd; jungian psychotherapy; holistic psychotherapy; vietnam war; veteran healing
• Online Access: https://closeencountersinwarhome.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/tick-manchu-comes-home.pdf

As the war in Vietnam entered its crucial, bloody third year, the author of this article began his long journey and career as a Jungian therapist assisting the veteran Rod, who had come back from overseas with severe spiritual injuries. This article tells how the author built a gradual interpersonal connection with his patient through the exam of his dreams, in which symbols and archetypes played a relevant role as structures able to elaborate the trauma buried deep below. For the therapist too, this journey was a challenging endeavour insofar as he had never come across the horrors of war and Rod’s crude testimonies constituted his ‚close encounter‛ with an unpopular and bloody conflict. This article thus offers an insightful view from the inside of the therapeutic approach to PTSD from the holistic perspective of a Jungian therapist, who worked on the archetypical content of his patient’s dreams to tackle trauma.