Private James Francis Ryan and PTSD

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The character that will be examined is named Private James Francis Ryan from the movie Saving Private Ryan. The movie takes place during June 6th 1944 also known as D-Day and the following days after that. The United States army receives information that all his brothers were killed in action, therefore they found it necessary to go get him back home to his mother. The army sends in an eight man squad led by Captain John H. Miller in order to recuse and bring James Francis Ryan home.
James Francis Ryan is a World War II veteran and everyday he thinks about what happened during the war. The biggest problem he faces is stress from World War II. World War II was a very tragic event at that time and many veterans developed various mental illness. From the movie, it shows that James Francis Ryan was no exception in facing problems because of the war. He wants to make sure that he lived a good life and was a good person because of the words from his comrade, Captain John H. Miller. James Ryan wants to live up John Miller’s expectation because he went through so many battles and losses in order to ensure that James Ryan returns back home to his mother. This issue that been inside of him for many years and even though he’s now a grandfather he still recollects the events that has happened. Constantly living up to an expectation can be hard, but he has a very supportive family to back him up, especially his wife. At the end of Saving Private Ryan he told his wife, “Tell me I lived a good life, and tell me I am a good person.” He told his wife this in front of John H. Miller’s grave to confirm to himself and John H. Miller that he tried his best to live up to his words. Judging based on how supportive the family seems it is pretty clear ...

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...ype of treatment available for post-traumatic stress disorder patients is psychotherapies. There are various types of psychotherapy that psychologist can use such as exposure therapy, psychoeducation or mindfulness training. In exposure therapy, the patient is recreating the traumatic event help get rid of the fear relating to the event. For example, James Francis Ryan could be put through a session where there was simulation of explosives going off or even airplane engine noises. Research by F.R. Schneier et al., 2012, found that antidepressant medication taken alongside exposure therapy was found to be more effective in treating the post-traumatic stress disorder (Sue, Sue, Sue, and Sue, 2014, p.127). Psychoeducation is also used with exposure therapy because it educates the patient with information about their disorder in order to understand it and cope with it.

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