Troops’ ‘Avalanche of Needs’ in Treating Traumatic Stress

JUDY WOODRUFF:

With me are two with extensive experience counseling troops for traumatic stress. Doctor Jeffrey Johns was an Air Force psychiatrist from 2001 to 2008. He's now in private practice, and he works at a community health clinic. Heidi Kraft was a clinical psychologist in the Navy. She directed a combat stress unit in Iraq and later wrote a book titled "Rule Number Two: Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital." She continues to treat soldiers. Thank you both for talking with us. We just saw that compelling profile of the former Marine. We heard how prevalent it is. Heidi Kraft, does that square with what you have seen?

HEIDI KRAFT:

Absolutely. Sgt. Workman's story sounds very, very similar to what I hear from many of my patients who are also Marines and experience so much of the same types of symptoms that he described. It's — it really sounds incredibly familiar to me.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

And, Dr. Johns, does that sound like what you're — what you have witnessed?

DR. JEFFREY JOHNS:

Oh, yes, very much so. There are many cases very similar to Jeremiah's all across this nation

JUDY WOODRUFF:

And Dr. Johns, what about how prevalent it is? We heard Betty Ann cite just the skyrocketing — skyrocketing number of suicides, the number of service members seeking treatment. What — what's your sense of that?

DR. JEFFREY JOHNS:

Well, my sense is that it's a tremendous problem, an un — often unrecognized and undiagnosed while members are still in the active-duty services. While the president talks that we will take care of our own, we're really shortchanging our troops and not providing them the care that they need. So, this problem is pervasive. It is extensive. And we need to be doing a lot better job to take care of these troops.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

Heidi Kraft, give us a sense of — of — of what you saw, what you — what you're working with now, and the challenges that these veterans face when they come back and they try to get help.