The Spartans called it The Trembler; recent history has seen it termed Shell Shock, Combat Fatigue, Soldier's Heart, and Vietnam Syndrome. Whatever the name, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has always been with us. With twenty percent of the veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq exhibiting PTSD symptoms, the United States military has a strong interest in combating the condition. Navy psychiatrist Robert N. McLay has been at the forefront of these efforts. This is his story of using Virtual Reality to treat service personnel and veterans with PTSD.As a practicing psychiatrist who worked with veterans and civilians dealing with PTSD, McLay knew for years before the September 11, 2001, attacks that effective treatments for the condition were elusive. When active duty called, he met the challenge, becoming the primary investigator on PTSD treatment projects that had service members face the ghosts of war in a computer simulator. After using this new form of exposure therapy on the home front, McLay and his team believed that they had found a promising way to work with warriors broken by combat, so in 2008 they took it to the front line in Fallujah, Iraq, with the First Marine Expeditionary Force. Several years into the project, McLay recounts openly and with bleak honesty the successes, failures, and limits of Virtual Reality treatment for PTSD. Filled with poignant firsthand accounts of war and its psychological aftermath, At War with PTSD explains the difficulties of using this specialized technology in the field and discusses such nettlesome challenges as dealing with people who refuse to believe in PTSD, including those diagnosed with it. So far, the Virtual Reality program shows more promise than traditional therapies. And although McLay remains unsure why or how, his experiences hold out hope for those suffering from this devastating disorder.
Prologue 1. Why This Book Was Written 2. What Is PTSD Anyway? Looking at the Problem before Iraq 3. Every War Is Different, Every War Is the Same 4. Mind and Brain 5. The Forgotten War 6. Treatment and Cure 7. I Don't Believe in That Stuff: Arguments against the Existence of PTSD 8. Some Birthday: Attempts to Prevent PTSD 9. Iraq in Digital 10. Women at War 11. Memorial Day in Camp Fallujah 12. It Just Might Work 13. The State of the Science 14. Therapy in Foxholes 15. The War at Home 16. Virtual Reality Faces the Real Thing 17. Different Roads Home 18. A Kind of Peace: What We Learned and What We Have Left to Accomplish Acknowledgments Index
""Though useful for mental health professionals from different backgrounds (i.e. psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, patient care technicians, etc.), this work is also intended for those who have experienced symptoms of PTSD or know someone who has... There are many books that discuss virtually every aspect of PTSD... few offer such a personal, frontline glimpse into the challenges mental health professionals face in providing accurate assessment and treatment services for military personnel.""
