Introduction
Veterans belong to a distinct category of population, which needs a specific curing approach due to the obtained intense adverse experiences and their long-lasting or, sometimes, lifelong effects. This treatment should be diverse, multi-faceted, and based on substantial, trustworthy evidence that can enhance and update therapists’ understanding and knowledge of the problems. This paper aims at comparing and analyzing two scientific pieces of literature, one of which is Object Relations Family Therapy and PTSD: Family Therapy with Four Generations of a Vietnam Veteran’s Family by Nancy Errebo. The second work is Back from the Front: Combat Trauma, Love, and the Family by Aphrodite Matsakis.
The Work by Errebo
Errebo Nancy’s article in-depth examines the relationship problems in a Vietnam Veteran’s Family consisting of four generations and explains the value of object relations family therapy (ORFT) in this case. The author focus on revealing particular issues of family members, family dynamics, the intense effect of the war on the veteran, and his behavior’s impact on the family environment. One of the primary causes for conducting the study was that substantial evidence existed that veterans’ traumatic experiences received in wars or related events, influenced their children and family’s atmosphere overall (Errebo 421).
The applied treatment method, that is, ORFT, served as an effective intermediary between systematic family therapy and psychoanalytic therapy and considered the context of the affected family. The technique also allows for alleviating or treating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by exploring veterans’ perceptions of traumatic events and their related adverse, consistent feelings.
This particular case is useful for counseling practice since Errebo indicates the main obstacles that therapists can encounter during sessions, including patients’ and families’ resistance to the treatment or the problem disavowal. In this regard, ORFT is specifically designed for family-associated issues, providing flexibility and identification of frequently neglected points that still reflect on relatives. Herewith, the method requires therapists to work not only with specific patients but also with their environments, especially children and spouses (Errebo 422). Overall, despite the failure to treat PTSD completely, the therapy attained noticeable outcomes. The patient could discuss his war-connected experience and even ceased using narcotics for pain relief. His family also endured significant changes, particularly in understanding the veterans’ problem and the importance of supporting him.
The Work by Matsakis
The work by Matsakis is much more extensive in terms of factual material, encompassing many different mental problems linked to veterans returning from the Afghanistan and Iraq fronts. Back from the Front: Combat Trauma, Love and the Family is an excellent resource that offers fervent hope and cure for soldiers, their families, spouses, healthcare professionals, and other related individuals. The author herself is concerned with this issue and gives valuable advice, necessary information, obvious examples, and practical strategies that can successfully help patients and their families. Overall, the book grants readers a sense that the author is a real expert in her field and profoundly knows her subject and problem.
In the initial chapters, the book provides comprehensive but comprehensible insight into combat trauma and its consequences, both positive and negative. Specifically, Matsakis describes various types of PTSD and draws a clear line between combat-related trauma and trauma because of natural calamities, indicating the former is more likely to cause losing belief and trust in humanity (Matsakis 24). The specialist also addresses the most frequently asked questions about war and combat trauma and specifies the physical and psychological aftermath emerging in the different severity levels of trauma.
Besides, Matsakis pays special attention to veterans’ relationships with spouses, especially regarding intimate, sexual life, family members, and overall society. In this regard, the author explains patients’ most prevalent emotional expressions, including excessive anger, violence, and rudeness, that can be manifested as a response to caretaking. Finally, the work dedicates chapters to women in the armed services, veterans’ children, and veterans’ increased suicidality.
Work Cited
Errebo, Nancy. “Object Relations Family Therapy and PTSD: Family Therapy with Four Generations of a Vietnam Veteran’s Family.” Legacy of Vietnam Veterans & Their Families. Survivors of War: Catalysts for Change by Dennis K. Rhoades, Michael R. Leaveck, and James C. Hudson, DIANE Publishing, 1996, pp. 420-427.
Matsakis, Aphrodite. Back from the Front: Combat Trauma, Love, and the Family. Sidran Traumatic Stress Ins., 2007.