ABSTRACT
Armed with the lessons of shell shock, it is frequently argued that military psychiatry played a significant role during World War Two in both reducing the number of psychological casualties and managing effectively those that arose. Screening and selection procedures weeded out those unsuitable for military service, while the widespread recruitment of psychiatrists enabled effective treatment to be delivered close to the fighting and at specialist base hospitals for severe or chronic cases. Drawing on ideas from psychoanalysis and social psychology, innovative techniques were pioneered for individuals and groups. The work of Bion, Rickman and Foulkes at Northfield and Maxwell Jones at Mill Hill is said to have revolutionised groups, while occupational, art and individual therapies advanced in specialist military hospitals (Ahrenfeldt, 1958). Having proved their worth in wartime, these clinical services were reapplied both within the National Health Service and private practice. The war acted as a significant catalyst for change and innovation. As a result, it has been suggested, a costly war pension bill was avoided largely because men, who had broken down in the forces, were successfully reintegrated into employment. The pressure groups composed of discontented veterans did not appear as they had done in the aftermath of World War One.
