Soldiers returning home from World War I suffered greatly from the horrors of war that they had witnessed. Many returning veterans suffered from what was then known as shell shock; now known as post traumatic stress disorder. In 1915, the British Army in France was instructed that: In August1916, Charles Myers was made Consulting Psychologist to the Army. He hammered home the notion that it was necessary to create special centres near the line using treatment based on:
Promptness of action;
Suitable environment;
Psychotherapeutic measures.
He also used hypnosis with limited success. In December 1916, Gordon Holmes was put in charge of the northern, and more important, part of the western front. He had much more of the tough attitudes of the Army, and suited the prevailing military mindset, and so his view prevailed. By June 1917, all British cases of 'shell-shock' were evacuated to a nearby neurological centre, and were labelled as NYDN – 'not yet diagnosed nervous'. "But, because of the Adjutant-General's distrust of doctors, no patient could receive that specialist attention until Form AF 3436 had been sent off to the man’s unit and filled in by his commanding officer." This created significant delays, but demonstrated that between 4-10% of shell-shock W cases were 'commotional', and the rest were 'emotional'. This killed off shell-shock as a valid disease, and it was abolished in September 1918. During the war, 306 British soldiers were executed for cowardice; many of whom were victims of shell shock. On 7 November 2006, the Government of the United Kingdom gave them all a posthumous conditional pardon. The Shot at Dawn Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire commemorates these men.
Present work
Combat Stress announce as of 27th January 2020 due to a shortage of funds they will not accept any further referrals for treatment in England and Wales . Combat Stress was formed at a time when there was little known about mental health problems affecting ex-Service men and women who had returned home after serving in war and conflict zones. Currently, the organisation is helping almost 6,000 people who are Veterans aged from 19 to 97. Combat Stress are currently treating 971 Veterans who served in Afghanistan and 1,185 who served in Iraq. Support is currently being given to those who suffer from:
This support is delivered throughout England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland; through three treatment centres, Hollybush house and Tyrwhitt house offer residential support and Audley Court operates as an outpatient base along with community outreach teams.
Services
Services are provided by qualified professionals which include psychotherapists, Occupational Therapists,Nurses and Art Therapists
