Military Psychiatric Analysis

Words: 1044
Pages: 5

This paper will address War Military Mental Health and how US Psychiatric are attempting to come up with a solution. This paper takes the position
Psychiatrists are currently searching for a solution for mental illness after war for Military men. They’re screening soldiers to detect vulnerability for mental health problems. It is used to identify the possible presence of an undiagnosed disease. “nervous breakdown” was related to relatively stable characteristics within the genetic makeup or early childhood experiences.
During WW 1 psychiatrist Thomas W. Salmon a military psychiatry during World War one promoted the modernization of psychiatry by advocating prevention, treatment in outpatient clinics, and research into the causes of mental
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Between 1941 and 1944, Sullivan’s screening methods excluded 12% (almost 2 million) of 15 million men examined. 37% were excluded on neuropsychiatric grounds. during World War II: the reported incidence rate for war neurosis in the US armed forces was at least double the rate during World War I. The unexpected and dramatic failure of selection combined with the pressing military need for manpower led military officials to severely criticize psychiatrists. An order of Gen George C. Marshall abolished screening in 1944. At that time, a number of men who had been recommended for rejection on psychiatric a mere 18% was later discharged on neuropsychiatric grounds. Of the remaining group, 80% gave satisfactory service it is not surprising that screening programs for psychiatric disability had poor predictive power. Even today, the mental health consequences of war are poorly defined, with ever-shifting diagnostic categories, an uncertain theoretical foundation, and a lack of consensus on the relative contribution of predisposing and contextual factors. The failure of selection provided a serious challenge to the notion that predisposing factors were critical to the development of mental health problems during deployment. It challenged psychiatrists to explore other causes, such as the stresses of …show more content…
The American Legion was convinced that these soldiers deserved the best treatment and were entitled to a pension. Psychiatrists wondered whether their efforts had contributed to the problem of the large number of ex-servicemen who still suffered from psychiatric disability after the war. After World War II, most psychiatrists considered aiding returning soldiers to integrate into society primarily a job for families and the local community. The benefits of the GI Bill of Rights (the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act),51 which included funding for higher education and easier access to mortgages, aided many veterans. the development of psychiatric problems after wars could be counteracted by the presence of an understanding and supportive community, a perceived appreciation of the service that had been rendered, and above all, employment and the perception of social