Abstract
An estimated 500,000–700,000 veterans suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder characterized by mental flashbacks of the war, recurrent dreams of the trauma, repetitive, intrusive thoughts of the war, irritability, generalized anxiety and difficulty relating to others. For many years, these individuals went undiagnosed and, except for rap groups, untreated. The rap groups were formed to talk about the war in a general debriefing process during the early 1970s. Rap groups failed to focus on the individual pathology, but, instead, provided a forum to refashion value and meaning in the veterans' lives. Recently, more traditional forms of group therapy have been used to help treat individuals suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder secondary to the Vietnam war. This paper discusses the unique features of traditional group therapy with Vietnam veterans.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition. Washington, DC, 1980.
BLANK, A. S. Vietnam veterans—Operation outreach. Presented at the First Training Conference on Vietnam Era Veterans, St. Louis, MO, September 24–28, 1979.
BLANK, A. S. Discussion of papers on the psychological problems of Vietnam veterans. Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, San Francisco, CA, May 8, 1980.
CAVENAR, J. O. Jr., & NASH, J. L. Combat and the normal character: War neurosis in Vietnam veterans.Comprehensive Psychiatry, 1976, 17, 648–653.
DOWNS, F. The anguish of the veterans.Center Magazine, 1979, 12(4), 27–36.
FIGLEY, C. R. Combat as disaster: Treating combat veterans as survivors. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, Chicago, May 14, 1979.
GRINKER, R. P. & SPIEGEL, J. P.Men Under Stress. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1963.
HOROWITZ, M. J. Phase oriented treatment of stress response syndromes.American Journal of Psychotherapy, 1973, 27, 506–515.
HOROWITZ, M. J.Stress Response Syndromes. New York: Jason Aronson, 1976.
KEISER, L.The Traumatic Neurosis. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1968.
SMITH, J. Vietnam veterans: Rap groups and the stress recovery process. Unpublished manuscript, Duke University, 1980.
WALKER, J. I. & NASH, J. L. Group therapy in the treatment of Vietnam combat veterans.International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 1981, 31(3), 379–389. (a)
WALKER, J. I. & NASH, J. L. Post-traumatic stress disorders in combat veterans: Diagnosis and treatment.Journal of Psychiatric Treatment and Evaluation, 1981, 3, 247–250. (b)
WILSON, J. P. Conflict stress and growth: Effects of war on psychosocial development. In C. R. Figley & S. Leventman (Eds.),Strangers at Home: Vietnam Veterans Since the War. New York: Praeger Special Studies, 1980.
YOST, J. F. Personal communication, 1981.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Veterans Administration.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Walker, J.I. Comparison of “rap” groups with traditional group therapy in the treatment of Vietnam combat veterans. Group 7, 48–57 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01458250
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01458250