Osiris
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Historical Article
War neurosis, adjustment problems in veterans, and an ill nation: The disciplinary project of American psychiatry during and after World War II.
After World War II, the confidence of American psychiatrists was at an all-time high as a result of their successful participation in the war. When the incidence of mental breakdown in the American armed forces rose to unprecedented heights, new and effective psychotherapeutic methods were developed to treat the traumatic effects of the extraordinary stresses of warfare. ⋯ They first focused on aiding the reintegration of returning veterans. Later, they addressed the poor mental health of the American population as a whole, which they considered to be the consequence of faulty child-rearing methods.