From Combat to Communion
This paper explores a psychospiritual model for the recovery of returning special forces veterans experiencing complex PTSD (CPTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI), utilizing the framework of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, Robert Moore’s four-fold masculine archetypes, Carl Rogers’ humanistic theory, and the transpersonal psychology of Grof, Wilber, and Washburn. Within this paradigm, plant medicine is not merely a pharmacological agent but a ritual gateway into a sacred process of ego death, archetypal rebalance, and reintegration. The healing journey is reframed as a rite of passage that dignifies suffering, restores sovereignty, and allows trauma to be alchemized into meaning.
