From Shell Shock To Combat Stress: A Comparative History Of Military Psychiatry by J.M.W. Binneveld

War confronts a soldier with extreme situations. Deeply shocking events are followed by periods of inactivity and boredom. Not everyone is equally able to cope with such experiences. Armed conflicts produce not only deaths and injuries but mental breakdowns as well. The field of military psychiatry was founded at the beginning of this century for the purpose of patching up psychologically wounded soldiers.This book presents a history of this field. The first part provides a historical survey of the conduct of war, with an emphasis on front-line experiences and the psychological pressures typical of various combat situations. The second part deals with military psychiatry itself: what kinds of problems did the soldiers have, how were they diagnosed by psychiatrists, and which therapies were used?

An analysis of the relation between civil and military psychiatry shows that, contrary to a commonly held view, the phenomenon of war has not led to important innovations in the area of therapy.