PTSD All Things Considered

Iris Law PTSD – “All Things Considered”

Who are the sources that she introduces? What is the purpose of each source? What kind of questions do you imagine elicited the tape Spiegel got?

Interview with Kevin Knight - can you describe your experience with PTSD in you and its effects on you after the war? - Purpose: gulf war vet diagnosed after PTSD was recognized; a face of the disease as one still suffering from it even now

Interview with Jack Smith - describe symptoms or how PTSD affected you - describe how you realized that the other Vietnam vets had the same symptoms; what was it like? - Question about power of labels – when did you first name it? (“post Vietnam- syndrome”) - Do you know anyone who was personally affected by PTSD who was negatively affected by lack of treatment/diagnosis? - What did you do to get the VA to listen to you? Describe what happened and what happened to you afterwards? - Why did you want to get post-Vietnam syndrome in the psychiatric manual? - What happened when you met with Spitzer? - How did post-Vietnam syndrome come to be called PTSD? - Why was it important to have it written in the manual? - What did the dept head say when you tried to do a dissertation on PTSD? - purpose: war vet who experienced PTSD but wasn’t diagnosed b/c didn’t exist during Vietnam; part of the group from whom the diagnosis was made; main storyteller

Interview with psychiatrist (Lifton) - describe what you observed with the Vietnam vets - purpose: historical, clinical perspective

Interview with Art Blank (worked at Vet hospital) - describe objections of VA at the time - describe what happened pre- PTSD to the vets in the hospital - purpose: political perspective; perspective of those who worked with veterans

Wilbur Scott - What was Spitzer’s response to the veterans? Why was it significant? - Purpose: looking back at the decision to put it in the manual; outsider