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328
JOHN
G.
WATKINS
An
abreactionwas initiatedby a directquestion in the conscious state:
“Whydo youwant to kill your father?”He explodedviolently,with hys-
terical crying, tremors, and pounding his hands together.
This
catharsis
lasted 15 to
20
minutes, followed by reassurance and interpretations
concerning the transference of his angry feelings about his father onto
the killing of enemy soldiers.Expansionand ”working through” contin-
ued during several therapist-patient walks in the camp. He responded
with relief and strongemotionalinsight.When discharged, therewas no
trace of depression. He had released his anger, forgiven himself, and’
begun planning to
go
to college. The course of treatment involved five
sessions.
Phobic Reaction (fear
of
the dark)
Sometimes abreactions that related to childhood traumas, as well as
to battle fears, were initiated.
“Jordan‘s”phobic symptom appeared after
90
days of combat.How-
ever, his combat experience tripped off delayed reactions from many
childhood traumas, including being beaten by his father and escaping
by running off into the dark, beingput into adark closet forpunishment,
having nightmares aftermurder movies,being attackedby aman with a
knife, and seeing a neighbor lady commit suicideby pouring Lysol over
herself. This case constituted a delayed-onset PTSD, precipitated by his
battle experiences. Following a five-session abreactive reexperiencing
and mastery of these early traumas, his phobia of the dark seemed com-
pletely resolved. Twoweeks later, he was discharged.
Dissociative Reaction, Amnesia
“Richard” was hospitalized after being knocked unconscious by a
shell concussionsubsequent to
1
month of combat. Hehad total amnesia
ofhis past. When sent home onfurlough,hewas not able to recognizehis
wife and parents.
His condition was considered hysterical. Narcosynthesis with
sodium amytal was a failure, and he was referred for hypnotherapy.
Attempts to induce hypnosis were largely unsuccessful.
In
desperation, we decided on a pressure method of motivation-
which
I
have never used since. He was told that every effort would be
made to recover his memory, but one finalpossibilityremained, namely,
to return him to the scenewhere he lost it (i.e., back into combat in Ger-
many).Themilitary,of course,doesnot carryout such implied threats.
He immediately began to respond more fully to hypnosis. Following
hypnotic suggestions of regression, his childhood,marriage, and induc-
tion into theArmy were explored.
An
abreactionwas then induced, dur-
ing
which he (and
I)
emotionallyrelived his battle experienceup to the
time of the shell explosion.
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