Pathologizing Military Trauma: How Services Members, Veterans, and Those Who Care About Them Fall Prey to Institutional Capture and the DSM

Ethical Implications of Using Research-Based Theater to Challenge Hegemonic Narratives About Mental Health

“…In recent years, there has been a trend, generally perceived as positive, to "de-stigmatize" PTSD among military personnel, and to increase access to and funding for psychiatric treatment for service members and veterans so diagnosed. These individuals are encouraged to embrace their "disorder" and, as a result, PTSD has appeared in the public imagination in new and important ways (Spring, 2017). While there may be tangible benefits for military personnel and veterans who attach themselves to the diagnosis (financial support from government to access treatment and/or to cover basic living expenses, for example), significant emerging literature problematizes both the notion of PTSD and the resulting treatment approaches it engenders (Burstow, 2005;Hoge, 2010;Shay, 1994Shay, , 2014.…”

Beyond “PTSD”: How stories and artworks that “make strange” can serve as signposts on new maps toward the communalization of military trauma

“…Surely, if one groups a person with whiplash from a car accident into the same diagnostic category as a political prisoner who has suffered years of torture by her state, it is evident that profound philosophical aspects of these individuals' respective traumatic experiences are being ignored. The following pages will illustrate that this misrepresentation (formulated by the DSM and reinforced by the media and healthcare professionals) is dangerous; not only does entry into the psychiatric system often rob traumatized individuals of vital coping strategies they have developed, but it also frequently leads to "treatments" that have alarming physical, emotional, and inter-personal consequences (See Burstow, 2015;Healy, 2009;Spring, 2016;Schott & Spring, 2016;Whitaker, 2002Whitaker, /2010.…”

“…Not only does this lack of understanding about military trauma often result in dangerous courses of "treatment" for those who are suffering (Hoge, 2010), but it also diverts attention away from beneficial non-psychiatric and interdisciplinary approaches to helping service members and veteransseveral of which are the focus of this article. While space constraints prohibit me from providing a full review of the negative effects that prescription drugs such as SSRIs are having on traumatized soldiers and veterans, these things have been widely reported elsewhere (Burstow, 2015;Hoge, 2010;Spring, 2016).…”