- Joseph Zuska, 93; Navy doctor developed treatment for alcoholism
- Gaps in Mental Care Persist for Fort Carson Soldiers
I did not know who Dr. Zuska was. It turns out he was a bit of a maverick:
Joseph Zuska, 93; Navy doctor developed treatment for alcoholism
By Jocelyn Y. Stewart, Times Staff Writer
May 24, 2007
Inside a rusted Quonset hut at the Long Beach Naval Station, Dr. Joseph J. Zuska operated a clandestine program, treating sailors for an illness that in the eyes of the Navy did not exist.
It was the mid-1960s, a time when alcoholism and its accompanying behavior were treated as violations of Navy policy, punishable by time in the brig. Yet the atmosphere on base and at sea encouraged heavy drinking. The abiding image of the drunk sailor was a reality for many.
After a conversation with a retired Navy commander who was also a recovering alcoholic, Zuska began treating the illness as a medical problem. His underground program, the first in the history of the armed forces, eventually earned national acclaim, providing a model for other branches of the military and private industry.
Zuska died May 17 at Los Alamitos Medical Center of complications from kidney failure and other illnesses, his son, John Zuska, said. He was 93...
It seems odd these days to think of a "clandestine" military program that was intended to help people. It is even more strange to think that it would have been necessary to keep it a secret.
"The brass was alarmed for two reasons: According to policy there were no alcoholics in the Navy at that time, hence there was no need for a treatment policy; and there were quite a few alcoholic admirals and generals on active duty in the Pentagon," Pursch wrote in a 1987 column for The Times...
The article goes on to review the history of the program, how it eventually became a mainstream program. Indeed, it became the template for effective substance abuse treatment nationwide. Did this result in an improved attitude throughout the military, with regard to mental health? At first, it seemed promising:
In 1967 the Pentagon gave Zuska approval for the first official Alcohol Rehabilitation Center, and by 1971, 70% of 900 patient admissions showed "demonstrated improvement."
In the 1980s the Navy's surgeon general sent doctors to Long Beach to learn from the program. The Navy eventually opened 33 rehabilitation centers around the world. ..
In fact, mental health and substance abuse treatment overlap, but are really two distinct communities with two distinct traditions. Progress in one area does not necessarily result in progress in the other.
In late 2006, NPR began snooping into the practices at Fort Carson, with regard to mental health treatment.
Soldiers Say Army Ignores, Punishes Mental Anguish
by Daniel Zwerdling
All Things Considered, December 4, 2006 · Army studies show that at least 20 percent to 25 percent of the soldiers who have served in Iraq display symptoms of serious mental-health problems, including depression, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Administration officials say there are extensive programs to heal soldiers both at home and in Iraq.
But an NPR investigation at Colorado's Ft. Carson has found that even those who feel desperate can have trouble getting the help they need. In fact, evidence suggests that officers at Ft. Carson punish soldiers who need help, and even kick them out of the Army...
After the story was broadcast, the Pentagon opened an investigation. They started a training program to "make sure" that commanders were educated about PTSD and that reforms were instituted. The outcome?
Gaps in Mental Care Persist for Fort Carson Soldiers
by Daniel Zwerdling
All Things Considered, May 24, 2007 · Six months ago, an NPR investigation found that leaders at Fort Carson, Colo., were punishing some soldiers who returned from war with serious mental health problems — and were preventing them from getting the treatment they needed. In some cases, officers kicked the soldiers out of the Army.
Those stories sparked ongoing investigations of the post, including one by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators and another by Pentagon officials...
But during a recent return trip to Fort Carson to see whether conditions for troubled soldiers had improved, the most significant changes appeared to be rhetorical.
More troubling is that independent mental health specialists who work with troops told NPR that Fort Carson's heralded new training course might even make things worse...
You can go to the NPR site to listen to the full story. But be forewarned, it is depressing. I listened to snippets from the training program. Although it is well-intentioned, it is not effective.
The fundamental problem is that there are some people who insist on making moral value judgments about virtually everything, and those judgments influence everything they do. They are not going to change those value judgments, no matter what training program is imposed.
Notice that the report did not examine the attitude of the health care personnel in the military; it did not even examine the entire system. They just looked at the leadership in one particular base. So I don't want to imply that the problems are pervasive throughout all components of the military.
Comments
If you are looking for the bottle neck, look at the top of the bottle.
Posted by: daedalus2u | May 26, 2007 9:19 PM
Force mental health nurses provide care for patients in an environment differing from most civilian hospital settings. On an in-patient unit, which consists mainly of active duty military patients, there is a strong emphasis placed on evaluating the ability of the patient to perform their military duty. Society's negative attitudes toward mental illness are often even more evident within the military environment toward active duty personnel needing mental health care.
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rosy
Colorado Drug Treatment
Posted by: rosy8230 | August 15, 2008 3:00 AM
Military Force provide care for patients in an environment differing from most civilian hospital settings. On an in-patient unit, which consists mainly of active duty military patients, there is a strong emphasis placed on evaluating the ability of the patient to perform their military duty. Society's negative attitudes toward mental illness are often even more evident within the military environment toward active duty personnel needing mental health care.
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rosy
Colorado Drug Treatment
Posted by: rosy8230 | August 15, 2008 3:12 AM
An NPR investigation at Colorado's Ft. Carson has found that even those who feel desperate can have trouble getting the help they need. In fact, evidence suggests that officers at Ft. Carson punish soldiers who need help, and even kick them out of the Army.
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Karmath
Hawaii Drug Treatment
Posted by: Karmath | August 17, 2008 11:27 PM
The impact a political-legal environment can have on business can cause so many craters so as to make that business look like the moon. It was a political-legal environment that gave birth to the corporate personhood doctrine and that gave rise to the corporate world we live in today. Political-legal environments can only hope to regulate markets, and market regulations will most certainly have profound impacts on business organizations. An example of the kind of bone headed impact a political-legal environment can have on a business one need look no further than American auto makers, the electric car and California. For whatever reasons, several of the auto manufacturers in the United States began developing electric cars which they leased to satisfied customers. Then, California decided it would be a good idea to mandate to American auto makers that if they expected to sell their cars in California they would have to invent some new technology reducing carbon dioxide. Presumably, California expected to see an increase of electric cars being sold by auto makers. What happened is quite the opposite and the auto makers took a hard look at their electric car program, uncertain how to market a "clean vehicle" without admitting the piston engine vehicles are dirty, realizing that much of the profit from a piston engine vehicle comes with the replacement of parts and not so with electric cars and finally, realizing that a State, not even the State of California can make them build technology they don't have, nor can any state even make them keep building the technology they do have, and so, the auto makers killed their own electric car program and this was the impact of a political-legal environment.
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mukesh
Colorado Drug Treatment Centers - Colorado Drug Treatment Centers
Posted by: mukesh | April 21, 2009 2:29 PM
Mental health can be socially constructed and socially defined; that is, different professions, communities, societies and cultures have very different ways of conceptualizing its nature and causes, determining what is mentally healthy, and deciding what interventions are appropriate.Thus, different professionals will have different cultural and religious backgrounds and experiences, which may impact the methodology applied during treatment.
Many mental health professionals are beginning to, or already understand, the importance of competency in religious diversity and spirituality. The American Psychological Association explicitly states that religion must be respected. Education in spiritual and religious matters is also required by the American Psychiatric Association.
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rajan
Colorado Drug Treatment Centers - Colorado Drug Treatment Center
Posted by: rajan | April 21, 2009 2:35 PM