THEME - the appreciation for different forms of therapy

The appreciation for many forms of therapy becomes instrumental in combating shell-shock. Rivers maintains a calm attitude when dealing with his patients. He performs psychotherapy and in addition to that, encourages his patients (the soldiers) to talk about their personal war experience rather than to forget the horrific images and "to let themselves feel the pity and terror their war experience inevitably evoked" (pg 48). Rivers is even willing to perform hypnosis on Billy Prior in order to help him retrieve his repressed memories.

The success of River's methods can be seen in the outcome of his patients. At the beginning of the novel, Billy Prior has a conversion disorder of muteness. However, through Rivers's patient prodding, eventually Prior begins to speak again. River's gentle nature enables him to pull Prior out of his mute state. Rivers also supervises another form of therapy by allowing interaction among the patients and the staff at Craiglockhart. Rivers's father-like relationship with his patients also is a form of therapy, because the men are able to freely open up to him.The success of the various therapeutic methods presented in the novel proves how valuable therapy is to mental and physical recovery from shell shock.

Dr. Rivers encourages rest and relaxation for his patients, unlike most other psychiatrist, who turn to electric shock therapy. One doctor who adopts such method of treatment in the novel is Dr. Yealland, who appears in the last few chapters of the book. Unlike Rivers, Yealland believes that "the removal of physical symptom" (pg 224) is already enough to be described as a cure. He doesn't take into account the emotional side of his patients as most of them are clearly show signs of other mental illnesses such as depression. Yealland in general is seen as the opposite of Rivers in terms of personality. Instead of having a welcoming attitude, Yealland is described as "an impressive figure" in which he does not "merely meet your eye, but stare(s) so intently that you fe(el) your skull ha(s) become transparent" (pg 224). This quoatation depicts the negative atmosphere surrounding Yealland in which people feel as the way he stares at people suggests a motive for people to fear him. Moreover, he also believes that the most effective way to cure a patient suffering from mutism is to apply "very strong electric current" to a patient's "neck and throat", apply "hot plates...repeatedly to the back of the throat" and "lighted cigarettes to the tongue" (pg 227) . This is portrayed through the fictional character, Callan, who suffers from mutism during the war. After conducting the treatment, Callan is able to speak fluently again thus is believed to be "cured". However, we the readers, do not know the extent in which Callan is considered "cured" because he is only perceived to be cured physically (i.e. being able to speak) but not considering his psychological state.


Extra info!

"Although Rivers used the Freudian concepts of 'repression' and 'the unconscious', in his work but he did not follow the Freudian School. He treated the soldiers with 'autognosis' which involved dream analysis (and was a version of what is now called cognitive therapy). Rivers called shell shock 'anxiety neurosis' and he used catharsis and re-education by telling his patients how much faith he had in them in order to make themselves well again. Rivers used the power of suggestion to create self-belief in the patients."

--- http://sites2.scran.ac.uk/Warp/Rivers2.htm