Second PTSD symposium slated at USM in Portland

Combat veterans and their families, as well as others concerned about the psychological impacts of warfare, are being invited to attend next weekend’s symposium on post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

The event, sponsored by the Maine chapter of Veterans for Peace, will take place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, June 2, in the Abromson Center on the Portland Campus of the University of Southern Maine.

PTSD is a psychological disorder that affects people who have witnessed or participated in profoundly disturbing events. It was formally recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980.

It is thought to affect many veterans of the Vietnam War, and the United States military estimates that as many as 25 percent of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have symptoms of PTSD or other mental health disorders.

A person with PTSD may relive a traumatic experience over and over and may lose touch with reality. Intense feelings – fear, anxiety, horror or helplessness – typically accompany the episodes, and in a less acute form may become part of the individual’s everyday life.

The affected person may become withdrawn, depressed, paranoid, argumentative and prone to violence and substance abuse. Untreated, PTSD can disrupt family life, render the individual unemployable and lead to incarceration and suicide.

In April, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate ongoing complaints of systematic stigmatization, inappropriate military discharges and lack of screening or outreach in the health systems of both Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Next Saturday’s event is the second PTSD symposium sponsored by the Maine chapter of Veterans for Peace, a national organization founded in 1985 and dedicated to raising public awareness of the costs of war and to seeking nonviolent alternatives.

The symposium last year was held in Augusta and attracted 135 attendees from all across the state.

This year’s event features presentations by:

. Dr. Judith Lewis Herman, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She will review the effects of traumatic events, with special attention to the experiences of women, in both military and civilian life.

. Edward Tick, who specializes in using psychospiritual, cross-cultural and international reconciliation practices to help veterans and communities heal from the traumas of war.

. U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., a medical doctor who recently submitted legislation to study PTSD and the health effects of exposure to depleted uranium on soldiers and their children.

. Kate Dahlstedt, a licensed mental health counselor in New York and co-director of Soldier’s Heart, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping service members return to civilian life.

. Michael Uhl, a longtime peace activist and a charter member of Veterans for Peace.

The cost of the symposium is $15 for veterans and family members and $35 for health care professionals and others. Lunch is included. To register, or for more information, contact Bob Lezer, president of Maine Veterans for Peace, at 865-0655 or by e-mail at boblezervfp@suscom-maine.net. Registration information is also available online at www.vfpmaine.org/vfp.htm.