Responding to the psychological impact of war on the Iraqi people and U.S. veterans: mixing icing, praying for cake.
The psychological impact of the war in Iraq stimulated major initiatives to build a modern mental health care system for the Iraqi people and to improve mental health services for U.S. veterans of the Iraq war. Although these two initiatives differ in important respects, they are both informed by general principles of psychology concerning the nature of social problem definition, the process of human adaptation to extreme stress and its aftermath, and the role and limits of mental health services. Building on these common themes and my own experiences, I describe how two nations are trying to address the colossal psychological damage wrought by the war in Iraq.
Humphreys
Keith
K
Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Palo Alto, California, and Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5717, USA. KNH@Stanford.edu
D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008605:Mental Health Services; D011592:Psychology, Military; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D014481:United States; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*