Introduction and overview: Posttraumatic stress disorder and related diseases in combat veterans

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is now a major topic in scientific literature and media, especially after the many years of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Approximately 2.7 million service members have served in the conflicts since the planes dived into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon on 9/11/2001. Estimates of the numbers of service members who have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and have PTSD range from 15 to 25?%. This introductory chapter begins by covering some critical administrative and cultural competency issues. It briefly outlines the basics of prevalence, diagnostic criteria, evidence-based, and innovative therapy.