Lessons Learned From Conflicts Past Help Improve Diagnosis of PTSD Today

As service men and women continue to face combat in the war on terror the after affects of their time in the military continue to be felt. Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common thread dating back to the days of Vietnam and Korea and beyond but diagnosis continues to improve today.

Mayer Bellehsen, PhD, Director of the Mildred and Frank Feinberg Division of the Unified Behavioral Health Center for Military Veterans and their Families discussed how the diagnosis treatment process has changed and what that has meant to those returning home from combat in recent years and their families. The program Bellehsen directs is a partnership between Northwell Health and the Northport VA Medical Center aimed at treating not only the patients affected by PTSD but also those around them on a daily basis.