Soldiers and Veterans Initiative

The Soldiers and Veterans Initiative (SVI) adds a psychoanalytic voice to the public's response to a growing mental health crisis among soldiers, veterans and their families — a crisis that is widely recognized by policy and mental health experts. In response to this public health emergency, APsaA President Prudence Gourguechon, has declared this Initiative. APsaA's SVI emphasizes two core contributions that psychoanalysts can make in the context of this crisis:

a focus on the impact of war on families and children, including across generations, and
a focus on the need for long term treatment and/or long term access to treatment for war injuries.

Soldiers and Veterans Initiative Blog

Author:	Johannes Neuer	Created:	6/24/2010 6:03 PM
Co-chairs Dr. Prudence Gourguechon and Dr. Harold Kudler blog about APsaA's Soldiers and Veterans Initiative.

Psychoanalyst Robert Stolorow's Book Heals in the Trenches

By Johannes Neuer on 10/19/2011 9:35 PM

Helen Davey, a psychoanalyst in Los Angeles, recently wrote a moving blog post on Huffingtonpost.com about the experience of Navy psychiatrist Dr. Russell Carr, who has served ten years in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan. At a conference on PTSD treatment in LA, Dr. Carr reported on his own process of healing from the shattering experiences he was managing within himself.

Aftermath of a Decade of War: NY Times series "Beyond the Battlefield"

By Johannes Neuer on 10/19/2011 9:23 PM

"Beyond the Battlefield" is a 10 part series by reporter David Wood that began in the Huffington Post on October 10. The series covers difficult and necessary subjects including disfigurement, long term care, the need for connection, therapeutic programs, outreach programs, and how the public can help.

Moral Injury

By Johannes Neuer on 10/6/2011 8:29 PM

"Moral Injury", an article by Diane Silver in the September-October issue of Miller-McCune magazine explores the notion that in many ways the trauma of war leaves moral injuries as well as psychological ones.

War's weight falls on every citizen, and as the ancient Athenians showed, all must help carry it.

by Thomas Paleima and APsaA member Stephen Sonnenberg published in the Austin American-Statesman

"Unfortunately, over the past eight years, our Army has been no stranger to tragedy, but we are an army that draws strength from adversity."

We should take to heart what Gen. George W. Casey Jr., chief of staff of the Army, said to us immediately after the terrible violence at Fort Hood.

APsaA Member Awarded Purpose Prize

APsaA member Dr. Judith Broder was recently awarded the prestigious Purpose Prize by Civic Ventures, a non-profit think tank devoted to baby boomers, work, and social purpose. Dr. Broder, of Los Angeles, CA, received $100,000 for her work on The Soldiers Project, which provides free, confidential and unlimited therapy to American military service members and their families.

Introduction

In its 2008 report, "The Invisible Wounds of War," the Rand Corporation studied the mental health problems of returning veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. Its authors concluded that 18.5 %of returning veterans struggle with PTSD or major depression, while another 19.5% suffer from traumatic brain injuries.

Because of the stigma within the military of revealing these symptoms, and because of limitations in access of veterans to confidential mental health care, many veterans' difficulties were going untreated. Of the half of those with significant symptoms who do seek treatment, a half in turn were being offered only minimal care (Tanelian & Jaycox, 2008). In a related finding, the suicide rate among veterans and active –duty military personnel has been rising as well, with preliminary reports within the Department of Veterans Affairs suggesting that a thousand veterans within V. A. care were committing suicide on a monthly basis (Finnegan, 2008).

APsaA's initiative will address what psychoanalysts have been doing and can do in the face of this mental health crisis. It will offer links to organizations with important information, and a bibliography for all who are interested in learning more about the traumatic aftermath of modern warfare, as well as about the psychodynamic treatment of PTSD.

Soldiers and Veterans Initiative