War Trauma: Lessons Unlearned, From Vietnam to Iraq. A Vietnam Trilogy, Vol. 3. - Softcover

Raymond Monsour Scurfield

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0875864856 ISBN 13: 9780875864853

Publisher: Algora Publishing, 2006

Synopsis

"War Trauma" concludes "A Vietnam Trilogy," in which a nationally-renowned authority on post-traumatic stress disorder reveals the psychiatric impact of war on soldiers and veterans, which is denied or minimized by government and the military. Through efforts to treat veterans of past conflicts he illustrates the inevitability of lifelong psychiatric scars from today s conflicts as well.

Scurfield draws on the experience of prior wars for valuable insights to help people who are now in the military or in the healing professions, and their families and communities, to deal with today s realities of combat and its aftermath.

This book studies the psychiatric impact of war on soldiers and veterans, and their familiesm and uses the experience of veterans of earlier wars to help people who are now in the military or in the healing professions, and their families and communities, to deal with today s realities of combat and its aftermath.
The effects go on for decades after the violence occurred, and we are still just learning to understand the depth and variety of problems it can cause. Further, Scurfield documents his proven innovative therapies for treating PTSD.

This volume also looks at what military and mental health professionals should have learned from the Vietnam War in order to better protect Americans in later conflicts and to help them recover afterwards. The Persian Gulf War, for instance, had an immense impact on veterans of all wars. The author was a national faculty member for joint VA-DOD training programs to enhance mental health response readiness for receiving anticipated medical and psychiatric casualties from the Persian Gulf War. What he found was a resurgence of selective amnesia and denial about the true impact of war.

Scurfield notes, "Chillingly, what happened in Vietnam in 1968-69 regarding psychiatric casualties has enormous parallels to what is happening today regarding US psychiatric casualties from the Iraq War."

About this title

About the Author:

Raymond Monsour Scurfield, DSW, LCSW, ACSW, is an Associate Professor at the School of Social Work and Director of the newly established Katrina Research Center at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast.

A Vietnam veteran himself, he worked for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs for 25 years and directed PTSD mental health programs in Los Angeles, Washington DC, the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii and American Samoa.

Scurfield is recognized nationally and internationally for his expertise in war-related post-traumatic stress disorder through his leadership of innovative treatment programs, 60+ publications, 300+ presentations, educational videos, national media appearances and research. He is an authority on racism and other contributing factors to veterans trauma, and the continuing psychological impact of the events of 9/11. His most recent publications are on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Scurfield was the lead author of an article for Frontiers (fall 2003) on the award-winning study-abroad course he co-led in 2000 for university students and combat veterans, a project that uniquely combined history and mental health curriculum and experiential learning.

Scurfield has received several outstanding university teacher awards. In 2006 he was given the Mississippi Social Worker of the Year Award by the Mississippi Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers in recognition of his post-Hurricane Katrina social work activities and post-traumatic stress interventions on the MS Gulf Coast, and he was named a Hero of Katrina by the university for his post-Katrina assistance efforts. He also received the Department of Veterans Affairs Olin E. Teague award for extraordinary contributions benefiting war-injured veterans.

Scurfield s achievements in the study and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder have become landmarks in psychiatry.

Review:

As a clinical psychologist and veteran of the War in Iraq, I can assure you that my review of the current literature has been extensive. To date, nothing published contains such extraordinary real world relevance as that which has been submitted to Algora Publishing by Dr. Scurfield....There simply is nothing else that captures the essence of the impact of war on combat veterans.

Volume 2, Healing Journeys, in and of itself contains invaluable material regarding medical evacuations, racism in war, and the terrible collusion of silence that continues to be an issue of tremendous proportion that has plagued many soldiers; issues which are rarely, if ever, addressed in other published material.

Dr. Scurfield's Vietnam Trilogy will be a tremendous service to those of us in uniform who have served, as well as those charged with providing for the psychological well-being of our combat veterans, their families, mental health professionals, and the general public. --Kathy Platoni, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist, LTC/MS/USAR

Scurfield s extensive work with Vietnam veterans in his 25+ year career with the Department of Veterans Affairs informs and enriches this work, which includes very engaging treatments of his return to Vietnam with his clients. Finally, the general public (read non veteran and non therapist) will find the treatment of the personal challenges and changes forged in war intriguing. Together these three works will provide a personalized background of where we ve been, where we went, how we got there and possible future implications for our evolving understanding of the Vietnam war and its impacts on participants, policy makers and the public. We have a long way to go to develop this understanding, but A Vietnam Trilogy is a very good place to start. ---- Gary E. May, Assoc. Prof. of Social Work, University of Southern Indiana, in Traumatology, Fall 2005

About this edition

• Publisher: Algora Publishing
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0875864856
• ISBN 13: 9780875864853
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 244