Psychiatric care of military families in the post-war Far East

Abstract

LAY SUMMARY There was a growing interest in psychology among British women in the post-war Far East. Military psychiatrists decried what they perceived as a lack of stigma associated with a psychiatric diagnosis and complained that it was the role of medical officers to prevent patients from seeking psychiatric help. Medical officers, however, were overworked and lacked sufficient psychiatric training. Some medical personnel thought this interest was leading to patients diagnosing themselves with psychiatric conditions and was, by extension, causing tension within the doctor-patient relationship.