Jonathan Shay
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Shay is a doctor and clinical psychiatrist
. He holds a B.A from Harvard and an M.D.
and a Ph.D.
from the University of Pennsylvania
. His early medical work was with the behaviour of brain cells in and after strokes, but after suffering a stroke and financial hard times, he began work for a United States Department of Veterans' Affairs outpatient clinic in Boston, MA. While he worked there, in his words, "[t]he veterans simply kidnapped [him]," and his work with them "utterly redirected [his] life."
With this, in 1987, he shifted from biochemistry to the still-developing study of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He has written two books on the nature and treatment of PTSD, Achilles in Vietnam (ISBN 978-0-684-81321-9) and Odysseus in America (ISBN 978-0-7432-1157-4), which discuss the nature of the ailment by analogy between the experiences of American soldiers, particularly veterans of the Vietnam War, and the similar experiences depicted in the Iliad
and the Odyssey
.
He is a passionate advocate of improved psychiatric counseling for soldiers, and more vigorous effort to prevent or heal PTSD, and has cited classical Greek theater and the collective mourning described in the Iliad as possible precedents.
He is very highly regarded in military circles, and has received a Macarthur "Genius Grant" fellowship
in 2007 to further support his work.
Whether as an essential aspect or a separate but co-morbid condition to PTSD, he introduced and has pushed heavily and almost by himself for the official recognition and acceptance by the psychological community of the clinical concept of Moral Injury and necessary treatment strategies to repair it. Indeed Moral Injury is one of the primary if not the primary personal theme for the soldiers described in his books Achilles in Vietnam and Odysseus in America leading to lifelong psychological dysfunction from PTSD and other treatment-resistant deficiencies in prior or basic functioning.
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
. He holds a B.A from Harvard and an M.D.
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
and a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. His early medical work was with the behaviour of brain cells in and after strokes, but after suffering a stroke and financial hard times, he began work for a United States Department of Veterans' Affairs outpatient clinic in Boston, MA. While he worked there, in his words, "[t]he veterans simply kidnapped [him]," and his work with them "utterly redirected [his] life."
With this, in 1987, he shifted from biochemistry to the still-developing study of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He has written two books on the nature and treatment of PTSD, Achilles in Vietnam (ISBN 978-0-684-81321-9) and Odysseus in America (ISBN 978-0-7432-1157-4), which discuss the nature of the ailment by analogy between the experiences of American soldiers, particularly veterans of the Vietnam War, and the similar experiences depicted in the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and the Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
.
He is a passionate advocate of improved psychiatric counseling for soldiers, and more vigorous effort to prevent or heal PTSD, and has cited classical Greek theater and the collective mourning described in the Iliad as possible precedents.
He is very highly regarded in military circles, and has received a Macarthur "Genius Grant" fellowship
MacArthur Fellows Program
The MacArthur Fellows Program or MacArthur Fellowship is an award given by the John D. and Catherine T...
in 2007 to further support his work.
Whether as an essential aspect or a separate but co-morbid condition to PTSD, he introduced and has pushed heavily and almost by himself for the official recognition and acceptance by the psychological community of the clinical concept of Moral Injury and necessary treatment strategies to repair it. Indeed Moral Injury is one of the primary if not the primary personal theme for the soldiers described in his books Achilles in Vietnam and Odysseus in America leading to lifelong psychological dysfunction from PTSD and other treatment-resistant deficiencies in prior or basic functioning.