Uploaded April 2017 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
In this excerpt from the interview, “Tending Soul with Military, Veterans, and First Responders: A Depth Psychological Approach,” for Discussions in Depth Psychology™, Ed Tick, Ph.D. and John Becknell Ph.D. discuss why they use the archetypal image of the “warrior” in their work with Military, Veterans, and First Responders.
Tick and Becknell engage the term “warrior” to distinguish the archetypal role of those who dedicate themselves to the preservation and protection of society, often in the face of great danger. The Warrior archetype has appeared in mythology and sacred writings for thousands of years, notes Tick, and has been a dominant archetype and psychological and social role in modern society as well.
While the U.S. military has also turned to the word “warrior” over the past several years as a term meant to bestow honor on anyone who has served in the military or in a war zone, Ed Tick and John Becknell contend that warriorhood is a sacred idea that goes beyond the parameters of physical service. Instead, it is a form of initiation going back thousands of years. It requires undertaking a lifelong “warrior’s journey”—a psycho-spiritual passage that allows a warrior to carry the pain and suffering they have observed while in service without falling victim to devastating impact to the psychological self as a result.
Learn more about the upcoming program, “Holistic Tending for Military, Veterans, and First Responders—Psycho-spiritual and Communal Support and Healing of Violent Trauma, Moral Injury and Stress” starting May 11, 2017, at Pacifica Graduate Institute: https://retreat.pacifica.edu/holistic-tending/
Starting May 11, 2017, Tick and Becknell are co-leading a two-session program at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA, called “Holistic Tending for Military, Veterans, and First Responders—Psycho-spiritual and Communal Support and Healing of Violent Trauma, Moral Injury and Stress,” an academic and experiential educational experience that builds on their pioneering work in the military, veteran and first responder fields. The program will be delivered in two separate four-day sessions) using lecture, discussion and experiences to lay a foundation and offer a hands-on practicum for a holistic and communal approach.
Tick and Becknell teach a World Warrior tradition, an understanding of the Warrior archetype, and how to frame experiences using a mythic and depth psychological approach. Retreats such as the upcoming program at Pacifica replicate the warrior’s journey home as it is practiced universally around the world.
The program seeks to understand how to create the social conditions and a framework in society that enable us to tend the needs of veterans and first responders, and is ideal for therapists, counselors, chaplains, clergy, educators, law enforcement, and anyone interested in working with warriors and finding unique and powerful ways to address the issues.
Listen to the full interview or read an in-depth summary at pacificapost.com/tending-soul-with-military-veterans-and-first-responders-a-depth-psychological-approach
In this excerpt from the interview, “Tending Soul with Military, Veterans, and First Responders: A Depth Psychological Approach,” for Discussions in Depth Psychology™, Ed Tick, Ph.D. and John Becknell Ph.D. discuss why they use the archetypal image of the “warrior” in their work with Military, Veterans, and First Responders.
Tick and Becknell engage the term “warrior” to distinguish the archetypal role of those who dedicate themselves to the preservation and protection of society, often in the face of great danger. The Warrior archetype has appeared in mythology and sacred writings for thousands of years, notes Tick, and has been a dominant archetype and psychological and social role in modern society as well.
While the U.S. military has also turned to the word “warrior” over the past several years as a term meant to bestow honor on anyone who has served in the military or in a war zone, Ed Tick and John Becknell contend that warriorhood is a sacred idea that goes beyond the parameters of physical service. Instead, it is a form of initiation going back thousands of years. It requires undertaking a lifelong “warrior’s journey”—a psycho-spiritual passage that allows a warrior to carry the pain and suffering they have observed while in service without falling victim to devastating impact to the psychological self as a result.
Learn more about the upcoming program, “Holistic Tending for Military, Veterans, and First Responders—Psycho-spiritual and Communal Support and Healing of Violent Trauma, Moral Injury and Stress” starting May 11, 2017, at Pacifica Graduate Institute: https://retreat.pacifica.edu/holistic-tending/
Starting May 11, 2017, Tick and Becknell are co-leading a two-session program at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, CA, called “Holistic Tending for Military, Veterans, and First Responders—Psycho-spiritual and Communal Support and Healing of Violent Trauma, Moral Injury and Stress,” an academic and experiential educational experience that builds on their pioneering work in the military, veteran and first responder fields. The program will be delivered in two separate four-day sessions) using lecture, discussion and experiences to lay a foundation and offer a hands-on practicum for a holistic and communal approach.
Tick and Becknell teach a World Warrior tradition, an understanding of the Warrior archetype, and how to frame experiences using a mythic and depth psychological approach. Retreats such as the upcoming program at Pacifica replicate the warrior’s journey home as it is practiced universally around the world.
The program seeks to understand how to create the social conditions and a framework in society that enable us to tend the needs of veterans and first responders, and is ideal for therapists, counselors, chaplains, clergy, educators, law enforcement, and anyone interested in working with warriors and finding unique and powerful ways to address the issues.
Listen to the full interview or read an in-depth summary at pacificapost.com/tending-soul-with-military-veterans-and-first-responders-a-depth-psychological-approach
