WSB-TV Atlanta reporter Alison Burns interviewed former Georgia senator Max Cleland in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., where Cleland discussed the treatment he is receiving for recently diagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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Washington Post reporter Donna St. George tells the story of Trinette Johnson, an Iraq War veteran suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. St. George summarizes the latest research on how trauma affects men and women and she describes the challenges facing female veterans. St. George writes:
For women who are mothers, combat-related PTSD may have added significance. Often, after war, "it's not the same mommy who left," said Yale University associate professor Laurie Harkness, who runs a Veterans Affairs mental health clinic in Connecticut. Although the same can be said for fathers, she said, "mothers in general are the emotional hub of a family."
In the final installment of a three-part series, Chicago Tribune reporters Carolyn Starks and John Keilman detail a boy's difficult recovery from a pit-bull attack. While the first two installments focused more on 10-year-old Nick Foley's physical injuries, the third explores the emotional and psychological challenges facing Foley, his family and others involved.
In the Dayton Daily News this week, a four-part series by reporters Laura A. Bischoff and Mary McCarty about a man falsely convicted of murdering his mother-in-law and raping his niece. The web package includes information about how the story was reported and videos of interviews with key sources. (Note: free registration required to read stories at daytondailynews.com.)
Albuquerque Tribune reporter Casey Philips visits a "talking circle" at the Albuquerque Veteran Affairs Medical Center, where American Indian veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder meet twice each month. Philips goes beyond the usual visit-to-a-PTSD-group story by examining relevant cultural factors (the "talking circle" format draws on American Indian traditions) and explaining the benefits of group support.
The story includes an in-depth discussion with the group's facilitator, VA psychologist James Gillies, and several moving accounts from veterans:
"People like stories that have a beautiful ending, but none of the stuff we're here for has a beautiful ending," said Thomas Bitsie, 59, a Navajo from Shiprock who said he lost his religion to alcohol after watching too many friends die during combat.
"The only thing that war determines, I suppose, is who's left. I put up with it, but I needed a lot of cooling off, and I did it with a Coors Lite."
