Changing the face of Abu Ghraib through mental health intervention: U.S. Army mental health team conducts debriefing with military policemen and Iraqi detainees.
A critical incident stress debriefing (CISD) was conducted with two U.S. Army military police officers (MPs) and 11 Iraqi detainees who experienced the untimely death of a detainee. The CISD was conducted by a psychiatrist and a psychologist, who used the seven-step debriefing model created by Jeffrey Mitchell in 1983. A primary goal of CISD is to diminish the impact of a traumatic event and ultimately to prevent the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder. An unexpected finding was that the debriefing provided an opportunity for the MPs and detainees to clear preconceived notions about each other, enhancing mutual collaboration. The purpose of this article is to describe how a mental health team used a CISD as an intervention in treating MPs and detainees who experienced a common tragic event.
Smith
Marshall H
MH
Abu Ghraib Internment Facility, Iraq.
Brady
Patrick J
PJ
D003419:Crisis Intervention; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq; D008605:Mental Health Services; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D008890:Military Psychiatry / Q000379:methods*; D010348:Patient Care Team; D016495:Police; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D011330:Prisons; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy*; D014104:Torture / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States