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Psychiatrists in Combat

Mental Health Clinicians' Experiences in the War Zone

  • Book
  • © 2017

Overview

Editors:
  1. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

    1. 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

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  2. Christopher H. Warner

    1. Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, USA

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  3. Robert N. McLay

    1. San Diego County Mental Health, San Diego, USA

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  • Written by experts in trauma on the battlefield
  • The only book to include case studies on personal and professional battlefield experiences
  • Offers a unique perspective on treating military veterans that is not presented elsewhere

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Table of contents (22 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
    Download chapter 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
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Keywords

About this book

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. 

Editors and Affiliations

  • 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

About the editors

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.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Psychiatrists in Combat

  • Book Subtitle: Mental Health Clinicians' Experiences in the War Zone

  • Editors: Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, Christopher H. Warner, Robert N. McLay

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44118-4

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Medicine, Medicine (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-44116-0Published: 03 May 2017

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-44118-4Published: 21 April 2017

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIX, 221

  • Number of Illustrations: 12 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Emergency Medicine, Occupational Therapy, Primary Care Medicine

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