Worst Seat in the House

[LincolnMan]

(06-29-2015 07:40 PM)Rogerm Wrote:  I believe Eva means that, if Rathbone could have been diagnosed and received help for his PTSD, as he might have in the modern era, might this have prevented him from murdering Clara.

As a practicing therapist for over thirty years now I would have to say yes. I have treated multiple patients with PTSD. It is often a long process. It presents an even more challenge when patients have multiple traumas that result in layers that have to be dealt with. My guess is that Rathbone had multiple traumas. What made it especially severe was that he could never really get away from remembering the Lincoln assassination because of the notoriety of the event- everyone knew about it. That coupled with his sense of personal guilt (however wrongly) over not saving Lincoln made his case extreme.