Mental health workers also may feel traumatized

Cases of post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans are soaring, requiring innovative treatment for the battle-weary, but questions abound over who can best treat the doctors caring for those who've experienced war's horrors.

U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who authorities say opened fire Thursday at Fort Hood, Texas, is a psychiatrist who routinely treated veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder - PTSD. The condition, which is often marked by extreme anxiety, emerges after exposure to devastating events.

Many experts now believe psychiatrists and other mental health professionals who are told about extreme trauma begin to feel traumatized themselves.

"There is no question that there is a contagious nature of the emotional experience of people who have been traumatized," said Hofstra University professor Robert Motta, who specializes in PTSD.

Motta served in Vietnam in the 1970s with the U.S. Army's 1st Calvary Division, one of the units at Fort Hood. He added mental health workers are often encouraged to counteract the stress by speaking with colleagues or seeking psychological help themselves.

Dr. Sandra Kaplan, medical director of the Rosen Family Wellness Center in Manhasset, which is designed to treat mental health issues specific to military and law enforcement personnel, said while exposed to the trauma of others, mental health experts do not have to succumb to it.

"You can prevent the trauma by working in a group," said Kaplan, adding the Rosen Center, a division of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, bases its care on a team approach.

Just as Motta believes stories of extreme trauma are contagious, Kaplan said team members can thwart the downward spiral of a colleague.

Hasan, single, was reportedly a loner and anxious about being deployed to Afghanistan. He was seriously wounded in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement and is in stable condition in a hospital near the base.

Dr. Charlene Thomesen, of the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center, said many professionals struggled as patients conveyed their stories following the 9/11 disaster. Like Kaplan, she says colleagues can help alleviate pressure.

In Washington, D.C., Dr. Antonette Zeiss, deputy chief mental health consultant for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said teams are important. "As we've developed more PTSD expertise, we have mandated that every medical center should have PTSD teams," she said.

With Martin C. Evans