New Rule Aids Veterans With PTSD

July 14, 2010 -- A new rule announced by the government this week makes it easier for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder to receive disability benefits. This change could affect hundreds of thousands of veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam.

Although post-traumatic stress disorder only became an official psychiatric diagnosis in the 1980s, the symptoms have been recognized for centuries as a reaction to the traumas of war. Several Institute of Medicine committees have studied the issue of PTSD, written reports, and provided congressional testimony on the needs of veterans with post-traumatic stress. Some notable, recent reports include Returning Home From Iraq and Afghanistan: Preliminary Assessment of Readjustment Needs of Veterans, Service Members, and Their Families (2010), Gulf War and Health, Vol. 8: Update of Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War (2010), PTSD Compensation and Military Service (2007), and Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: An Assessment of the Evidence (2008).

• National Center for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Website
• May 5, 2010, Congressional Testimony of Richard Fenske
• July 16, 2009, Congressional Testimony of Janice L. Krupnick
• Jan. 7, 2007, Congressional Testimony of Dean Kilpatrick