WAR & Military Mental Health: The US Psychiatric Response in the 20th Century

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) Vol. 97; no. 12; pp. 2132 - 2142
• Main Authors: Pols, Hans, Oak, Stephanie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Am Public Health Assoc 01.12.2007; American Public Health Association
• Subjects: 20th century; Armed forces; Combat Disorders - history; Combat Disorders - therapy; Early intervention; Family physicians; History, 20th Century; Humans; Mental disorders; Mental health; Mental health care; Mental Health Services - history; Military deployment; Military personnel; Military Personnel - psychology; Military Psychiatry - history; Psychiatrists; Psychiatry; Psychotherapy; Psychotherapy - history; Public health; Public Health Then and Now; United States; Veterans - psychology; War; World War I; World War II; United States; United States > US
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.090910

Involvement in warfare can have dramatic consequences for the mental health and well-being of military personnel. During the 20th century, US military psychiatrists tried to deal with these consequences while contributing to the military goal of preserving manpower and reducing the debilitating impact of psychiatric syndromes by implementing screening programs to detect factors that predispose individuals to mental disorders, providing early intervention strategies for acute war-related syndromes, and treating long-term psychiatric disability after deployment. The success of screening has proven disappointing, the effects of treatment near the front lines are unclear, and the results of treatment for chronic postwar syndromes are mixed. After the Persian Gulf War, a number of military physicians made innovative proposals for a population-based approach, anchored in primary care instead of specialty-based care. This approach appears to hold the most promise for the future.