Psychiatrists in Combat

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

   PDF

2. The Road to Iraq

   • Kris Peterson

   Pages 1-10

3. Farm Boy Turned Military Psychologist: A Summary of War Deployment Experiences, Struggles, and Coping

   • Layne D. Bennion

   Pages 11-19

4. Someone Always Has It Worse: The Convoy to Balad

   • Robert D. Forsten

   Pages 21-30

5. Psychiatrists in Combat: From the Deckplates to Division

   • Kevin D. Moore

   Pages 31-45

6. Occupational Therapists Share Deployment Experiences from Iraq and Afghanistan

   • William Heath Sharp, Matthew G. St. Laurent, Michelle J. Nordstrom, Brian T. Gregg, Krustin Yu

   Pages 47-60

7. The Most Efficient Marine

   • Heidi S. Kraft

   Pages 61-67

8. The Purposeful Doctor

   • Mary El Pearce

   Pages 69-76

9. The Iraqi Heart of Darkness: A Visit to Abu Ghraib

   • Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

   Pages 77-81

10. The Two Sides of Modern-Day American Combat: From Camp Austerity to Camp Chocolate Cake

    • Jeffrey Millegan

    Pages 83-90

11. Zero to Sixty: From Residency to the War Zone

    • Christopher H. Warner

    Pages 91-98

12. Research at the Tip of the Spear

    • Carl Andrew Castro

    Pages 99-107

13. From Battalion Surgeon to Combat Psychiatrist: Three Tours in Iraq and Afghanistan

    • Kenneth Richter Jr.

    Pages 109-121

14. “Oh, The Things You Can Find”

    • Robert Koffman

    Pages 123-132

15. Chronicles from the Cradle of Civilization

    • Kaustubh G. Joshi

    Pages 133-143

16. To Squander the Fighting Strength? Personal Experiences with Preventive Psychiatry and the Dilemma of Wartime Public Mental Health

    • Remington Lee Nevin

    Pages 145-155

17. Learning to Scale the Wall

    • Vincent F. Capaldi II

    Pages 157-162

18. Shrink in the Making: Learning to Become a Psychiatrist from the War Wounded

    • Rohul Amin

    Pages 163-174

19. After the Smoke Clears

    • Shannon Merkle

    Pages 175-185

20. The French Fourragère: Gore and Lore

    • David Michael Hanrahan

    Pages 187-192

This book tells the professional and personal experiences of American military psychiatrists and their colleagues in the longest conflict in American history. These highly trained men and women treat service members for the psychological consequences from their experiences in battle, including killing enemy combatants; seeing wounded and killed civilian casualties; losing their friends in combat; factoring in personal mental health needs, including psychiatric drug treatment; and potentially dealing with their own physical injuries from being shot or blown up.   
The volume consists of 20 short first-person case studies from the mental health providers who have been risking their lives while treating patients in the battlefield since 9/11. Written by expert psychiatrists who have experienced these challenges directly, this texts offers both a clinical and personal account that is not found anywhere else. Topics include tips on providing psychotherapy in battle, evaluating and treating detainees in war prisons such as Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, and the unique challenges of prescribing medication to patients who are also comrades in war.

Psychiatrists in Combat is uniquely positioned to be a valuable resource for psychiatrists interested in trauma and veterans, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, military health personnel, and mental health professionals interested in military psychiatry. 

• Coping with and caring for trauma
• Evaluating and treating detainees
• Providing mental health care during combat
• Treating military personnel during service
• Work-life balance in war

• Georgetown University School of Medicine, Professor of Psychiatry, George Washington University School of Medicine, Professor of Psychiatry, Howard University School of Medicine, Professor of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, USA

  Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

• Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, USA

  Christopher H. Warner

• San Diego County Mental Health, San Diego, USA

  Robert N. McLay

Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, MD, MPHProfessor of PsychiatryUniformed Services of the Health Scientists301-801-4723
LTC Christopher H WarnerLTC(P), MC,Ft Hood, Texas931-257-0522

Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, MD, MPH COL (Ret) US Army Chief Medical Officer District of Columbia Department of Behavioral Health Washington DC USA Acting Medical Director Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program Department of Behavioral Health Washington DC USA Clinical Professor of Psychiatry Georgetown University School of Medicine Washington DC USA Professor of Psychiatry Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) Bethesda, MD USA Previous work experience includes: Psychiatry Consultant to the Army Surgeon General Chief, Forensic Psychiatry, Walter Reed Health Care System Chief, Inpatient Psychaitry, Walter Reed Health Care System Chief, Community Psychiatry, Walter Reed Health Care System Medals: Legion of Merit Expert Field Medical Badge Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal w/One Oak Leaf Clusters Army Commendation Medal w/Three Oak Leaf Clusters Global War of Terrorism Medal Army Achievement Medal Overseas Ribbon (Two) National Defense Service Medal (Two) Korean Service Ribbon Expeditionary Medal Dr. Ritchie was the chair for 9 workships during 2014 APA.

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