Scars, and the resemblance to real trauma therapy (Part 2)
(I went to edit my tumblr post of my original analysis, and ended up making some really cool new connections and writing 2X the original post, lol. So, I’m also posting this more fleshed out version on here too!)
The process shown in the show of entering scars, the changing nature of scars, and the way in which someone has to process the parts of the trauma that scars bring up, is very reminiscent of my experience with therapies like EMDR. (Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) It’s a therapy focused on re-training the brain to treat trauma like a memory, instead something that bleeds into day to day life with PTSD disorders.
In order for a ghost to get to their door in School Spirits, they must first enter their scar. This is because just like in real psychology, the most effective treatment for trauma is “looking back to move forward”. After entering their scar, a ghost starts to recall the things that may have been avoiding addressing due to the distress it causes. But by doing that, they invite the chance to process the events shown to them, and challenge the negative beliefs that they’ve held on to.
In all the scars we see, none are made up of solely the event of their death. In some, it takes up a bigger space (Like Rhonda’s) and in others, whose death took up less of their mind, their death is the haunting scene that holds the moments that plague their mind the most (like with Wally and Yuri)
But, a death taking up so much of the space is not indicative of it being the only trauma they faced. Such as Rhonda, who’s scar is at first almost completely made up of the long and terrifying build up to her murder. We are told that she gravitated towards Mr Manfredo due to her parents neglecting her. Despite this, they don’t appear in her scar. We see her scar do something that the brain does during the process of EMDR (And something I’ve personally experienced). Each time her scar is shown later on, the scene slowly begins to fill with more and more stacks of glowing red radios.
In psychology, when someone experiences repetitive trauma, the mind cannot hold on to all of it and continue to function normally. So it represses things to make room as more trauma occurs. As traumatic experiences are processed and “cleared” (from the mind or the scar) the things that were repressed, come to the surface. The mind now has the room to hold what was once subconscious.
That’s what I believe is happening with Rhonda’s radios, and why when Wally's football field became emptier, it made room for the addition of Maddie to Wally’s scar.
In the scar journey scene in season 2, we essentially watch the characters experience a session of EMDR. One of the techniques used in EMDR is mentally going back into a memory and changing the outcome with the skills and knowledge of the more grown version of yourself.
Wally does exactly this while going through his scar. After being grounded by Rhonda’s comfort, he notices Charley being chased by his teammates, and pushes the people chasing him down. This protectiveness over his friend is something born from the mature version of Wally who’s grown past the constraints of his role on the football team. This growth leads him to score the point that killed him, rewriting the memory of his death and the shame he felt for who he was when he was younger.
In this visit to his scar, he cleared the sequence. And the next time he returned, his door appeared.
Another technique used is calling on protective figures to aid your younger self in dealing with what traumatized you. These can come in the form of people you know, animals, fictional characters, or anything else you feel you could’ve needed in that memory.
This is pretty explicitly shown in the scar journey scene, when Rhonda approaches Mr Manfredo's office. When Mr Manfredo lunges towards Rhonda, Wally steps in and punches him in the face. He then puts a comforting arm around Rhonda, and the group passes through. Leading up to her death, she didn’t have the physical strength to fight back, and didn’t have anyone who cared enough to look out for her. In this scene she’s back in the memory, but she’s brought someone with her who makes her feel safe and who can fight back for her.
I highly doubt that Rhonda has cleared her scar, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the next time we see it, Mr Manfredo is gone. I think unlike Wally, Rhonda’s scar might require a slightly different treatment.
EMDR for PTSD is more straightforward than the ComplexPTSD variant. (PTSD is a sudden onset of symptoms following a single traumatic event. CPTSD is something that begins in early childhood and develops alongside prolonged abuse and/or repetitive smaller traumas) With CPTSD, a person requires multiple sessions, and multiple sequences need to be cleared. Oftentimes,repressed memories need to be processed, and to get to the repressed ones, you have to clear the ones you remember.
Rhonda likely has complex PTSD, and I think her scar and its behavior reflects that. Rhonda mentions in season 1, that she gravitated towards Mr Manfredo because she had neglectful parents. This is and unfortunately real scenario. Emotional neglect is a huge factor in a child developing CPTSD, because unfortunately, it can create someone who is susceptible to being groomed and victimized. If a child is not given love by their parents, they struggle to recognize signs of ulterior motives. Rhonda knows this is what happened in hindsight, and tells Maddie, in hopes to help her figure out if that’s what happened with Mr. Anderson.
This reflects in Rhonda’s scar in the way that even after Mr Manfredo was subdued, she did not get the sense of an empty scar in the way Wally did. Also because a major aspect of her scar has been unaddressed: the radios
I suspect that the imposing presence of these radios in Rhonda’s scar, are manifestations of repressed trauma. Rhonda’s murder was something impossible for her to repress in her situation, as was the direct reason for her presence in the afterlife. It’s huge and objectively horrific, so it takes up a majority of her conscious terror. I think in order for whatever traumas Rhonda experienced prior to her death to fit into her scar, they had to take a subconscious form. I think the glowy huge radios are the subconscious metaphorical stand-in for that, and I suspect that the next time we see the scar, they’ve taken a more direct form.
I suspect Janet’s scar worked similarly, as she’s also shown to be a victim of parental abuse. She spent over a year being forced to spend time in her scar. I bet during that time she brute forced her way through processing her past (though the brute force aspect probably SEVERELY handicapped her) the only thing she was completely unable to clear out, was the abuse she was continuing to suffer from Mr. Martin. When she liberated herself from him, the final piece was cleared away and she got her door.
In general, a lot of what the show has done with scars and the concept of the ghosts in Split River is extremely reminiscent of the same therapy process that I’ve found the most helpful in healing years worth of traumas. The show is so so emotionally impactful for me for that reason. (As well as seeing my younger self in the characters) The introduction of Maddie to that world, kickstarting the healing of ghosts who’ve spent so long trapped in their pain is so real to me. I tried many therapies in the span of 10+ years that made minimal impact on making the world feel safer. By the time I reached adulthood it felt hopeless to keep trying when nothing changed. BUT Just like the split River ghosts, my biggest breakthroughs began when I entered my scar, and found someone to guide me through it. (And not listening to the Mr Martins diverting me from that path)