Subject, Frank A., is a 68-year-old male, who has been a resident patient in the Canandaigua Veterans Administration Hospital in Virginia for the past 11 years. He is a veteran of the Korean War who saw and experienced heavy fighting during his tour of duty. He experiences unpredictable periods of rage which caused him to be hospitalized intermittently over the years since his discharge; these outbursts became more frequent and were finally responsible for his full-time hospitalization at Canandaigua.
Frank is Catholic, the younger of two sons. His parents are both dead, and his brother lives in Oregon and rarely visits. Frank was married for several years after returning from Korea, but his wife, Louise, was unable to deal with his rages. They did not have children and were divorced after five years. Frank has not seen his ex-wife or had any contact with her since shortly after their divorce was finalized.
Frank knows me from my work at the hospital and has allowed me to give him Holy Communion each week. I am also Catholic. He found out from Dr. S., the psychiatric doctor who has done some work with him, that I am also a combat veteran; Frank knows that I served in Vietnam and survived two and a half years of heavy fighting on Hamburger Hill. Although we have talked several times, he has not asked me about my experience. Dr. S. has told me that Frank refuses to discuss his time in Korea, and efforts to induce him to open up are often the triggers for his rages.
Frank's rages can be especially violent because he is strong and in good physical shape. He often grabs the interviewer by the clothing, sometimes forcefully enough to tear off buttons. He always apologizes later and appears to be genuinely contrite.
Frank has told Dr. S. that he would like me to conduct an interview with him because he believes I am kind and sympathetic. Dr. S. arranges for the three of us to meet in a conference room. We conduct...