War and the Soul

October 1, 2005
If you crossed Thomas Moore's best seller "Care of the Soul "(1994) with James Hillman's recent "A Terrible Love of War", you would get this meditation on the effects of war, primarily the occurrence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Psychotherapist Tick ("The Practice of Dream Healing: Bringing Ancient Greek Mysteries into Modern Medicine") defines the soul as "the center of human consciousness and experience...the drive to create and preserve life," among other things. War veterans with PTSD, he theorizes, feel they have lost their souls, which happens because under the conditions of modern warfare, young men and women are not granted the status of respected warriors; instead, modern warfare dehumanizes people and appears meaningless. Tick posits that in order to heal, veterans and society at large need to partake in cleansing rituals, story sharing, restitution, and initiation. While this approach may indeed work, there are no data backing it up. Smaller libraries should have Moore's and Hillman's previously mentioned books as well as a title on PTSD that explains more standard modes of treatment, e.g., Glenn R. Schiraldi's" The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook". Tick's book is recommended for larger academic and public libraries. -Mary Ann Hughes, Neill P.L., Pullman, WA

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