Dissociated Rage Attacks in a Vietnam Veteran: A Rorschach Study

Abstract

A case study of a Vietnam combat veteran with episodic rage attacks is discussed with emphasis on Rorschach formal scoring and content analysis. Rorschach data suggest a near neurotic level of ego organization with massive repression in the form of dissociated violent outbursts. Vietnam combat trauma appears to be a precipitant. Developmental differences between preoedipal splitting and higher level dissociation are discussed. Dissociative states are posited to represent a developmental level of ego organization midway between borderline and neurotic levels and are not easily encompassed by either borderline or neurotic classifications.