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CNN Live Today

POW Psychology

Aired April 04, 2003 - 11:24   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now we want to turn to a postscript of some other action that has happened in Al Nasiriyah. As you may remember, you've got to see it by now, that dramatic nightscope video that we saw of the daring rescue of Jessica Lynch, who was at a hospital there in Al Nasiriyah, and she now is going through the process of trying to recover from her experience. She's got not just wounds physically, she's got to deal with some psychological wounds as well. Now, with some insights on that, we turn to our guest in Atlanta, Dr. Alberto Gonzalez, a military psychologist at the Veteran Medical's Center here in Atlanta. He's also a professor of psychiatry at Emory University.
Thank you for coming in. You and I have had a very interesting talk behind the scenes this morning. We hear that Jessica is going through something now called a decompression process, which surprised us. We thought that maybe she would go home or at least connected to her family immediately. That's not a good thing to do?

DR. ALBERTO GONZALEZ, VA MEDICAL CENTER: No, it's not a good thing to do. Experience has shown from previous wars, primarily World War II veterans and Vietnam War veterans, that if you allow soldiers, people that have been exposed to war situation, to return too quickly to civilian life, that can have deleterious or harmful effects on their psychological well-being later on once they adjust back to civilian life.

HARRIS: Like what, for instance?

GONZALEZ: For instance, during World War II, the -- it was found that veterans of that war, when they came back to the states, either from Europe or the Pacific Theater, they were allowed to stay with their units. They were allowed to keep their bonds with the units that they had been with in the field, and that gave them the opportunity to seek emotional support from each other and allow them to process, to talk about their thoughts and feelings about what they went through in the war. And that may have taken that trip, and that's what they call the boat ride back home.

HARRIS: Because they did come back on boats?

GONZALEZ: Exactly. They were not flying those days. That was not a jet era. So allowed them to -- gave them time to gradually adjust, and make that transition into civilian life.

HARRIS:Actually the transition back from Vietnam back to the states by jet actually complicated problems? GONZALEZ: Yes, and that was found to be the case with the Vietnam veterans, which was of course by that time flying jets was the common way of traveling. And for instance, it was not very uncommon for many veterans from that war to be on the rice paddy or the jungle, and 36 hours later to be on the streets of San Francisco, and that quick transition appears to have had a very negative effect on the psychological well-being. And it appears that human beings need more time, a gradual time to talk and to share their feelings. That's why they call it the decompressing phase.

HARRIS: So what's happening right now? What needs do you immediately address for someone like Jessica or the other POWs right now?

GONZALEZ: Well, I think there have been three words that have described what POWs are facing, and they're called the three d's, and they stand for dependency, which means that when an individual is captured by the enemy, they are dependent on them for medical care, for food, for water, for all the basic necessities of life. So they are dependent on them.

HARRIS: OK.

GONZALEZ: The second 'd' stands for dread, because obviously they are afraid of what's going to happen to them. They could be killed. They could be tortured.

And the last letter stands for dishonor. Because, after all, you're not supposed to be captured. So some individuals may feel ashamed that they were captured, that they allowed themselves to be in the hands of the enemy. So those are some of the issues that...

HARRIS: OK, we have to wrap things up. But quickly if I can, since I know you can't talk with the POWs, but maybe you could talk with their families, who may be watching right now. What advice would you have to their families.

GONZALEZ: Well, my advice for them would be to seek support from each other. I think it's very important that you get together with other families who have had this experience, to share your thoughts, your emotions, your feelings, so that you seek comfort and support from each other, and I think that has shown to be quite helpful, for people to help them deal in coping with the stress of having a loved one POW.

HARRIS: Very interesting. Things that many of us wouldn't each consider as issues there. Dr. Gonzalez, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired April 4, 2003 - 11:24   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now we want to turn to a postscript of some other action that has happened in Al Nasiriyah. As you may remember, you've got to see it by now, that dramatic nightscope video that we saw of the daring rescue of Jessica Lynch, who was at a hospital there in Al Nasiriyah, and she now is going through the process of trying to recover from her experience. She's got not just wounds physically, she's got to deal with some psychological wounds as well. Now, with some insights on that, we turn to our guest in Atlanta, Dr. Alberto Gonzalez, a military psychologist at the Veteran Medical's Center here in Atlanta. He's also a professor of psychiatry at Emory University.
Thank you for coming in. You and I have had a very interesting talk behind the scenes this morning. We hear that Jessica is going through something now called a decompression process, which surprised us. We thought that maybe she would go home or at least connected to her family immediately. That's not a good thing to do?

DR. ALBERTO GONZALEZ, VA MEDICAL CENTER: No, it's not a good thing to do. Experience has shown from previous wars, primarily World War II veterans and Vietnam War veterans, that if you allow soldiers, people that have been exposed to war situation, to return too quickly to civilian life, that can have deleterious or harmful effects on their psychological well-being later on once they adjust back to civilian life.

HARRIS: Like what, for instance?

GONZALEZ: For instance, during World War II, the -- it was found that veterans of that war, when they came back to the states, either from Europe or the Pacific Theater, they were allowed to stay with their units. They were allowed to keep their bonds with the units that they had been with in the field, and that gave them the opportunity to seek emotional support from each other and allow them to process, to talk about their thoughts and feelings about what they went through in the war. And that may have taken that trip, and that's what they call the boat ride back home.

HARRIS: Because they did come back on boats?

GONZALEZ: Exactly. They were not flying those days. That was not a jet era. So allowed them to -- gave them time to gradually adjust, and make that transition into civilian life.

HARRIS:Actually the transition back from Vietnam back to the states by jet actually complicated problems? GONZALEZ: Yes, and that was found to be the case with the Vietnam veterans, which was of course by that time flying jets was the common way of traveling. And for instance, it was not very uncommon for many veterans from that war to be on the rice paddy or the jungle, and 36 hours later to be on the streets of San Francisco, and that quick transition appears to have had a very negative effect on the psychological well-being. And it appears that human beings need more time, a gradual time to talk and to share their feelings. That's why they call it the decompressing phase.

HARRIS: So what's happening right now? What needs do you immediately address for someone like Jessica or the other POWs right now?

GONZALEZ: Well, I think there have been three words that have described what POWs are facing, and they're called the three d's, and they stand for dependency, which means that when an individual is captured by the enemy, they are dependent on them for medical care, for food, for water, for all the basic necessities of life. So they are dependent on them.

HARRIS: OK.

GONZALEZ: The second 'd' stands for dread, because obviously they are afraid of what's going to happen to them. They could be killed. They could be tortured.

And the last letter stands for dishonor. Because, after all, you're not supposed to be captured. So some individuals may feel ashamed that they were captured, that they allowed themselves to be in the hands of the enemy. So those are some of the issues that...

HARRIS: OK, we have to wrap things up. But quickly if I can, since I know you can't talk with the POWs, but maybe you could talk with their families, who may be watching right now. What advice would you have to their families.

GONZALEZ: Well, my advice for them would be to seek support from each other. I think it's very important that you get together with other families who have had this experience, to share your thoughts, your emotions, your feelings, so that you seek comfort and support from each other, and I think that has shown to be quite helpful, for people to help them deal in coping with the stress of having a loved one POW.

HARRIS: Very interesting. Things that many of us wouldn't each consider as issues there. Dr. Gonzalez, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com