Listen to Dr. Frank Ochberg on NPR Chicago about Sgt Robert Bales and the Nature of PTSD

Dr. Frank Ochberg was among the scientists who came to define PTSD during its earlier years. He’s a clinical professor of psychiatry at Michigan State University and one of the nation’s leading authorities on the psychological effects of trauma.

Since it first emerged as a diagnosis in the wake of the Vietnam War, PTSD has entered the public consciousness. But Dr. Ochberg also says PTSD can be misunderstood and misinterpreted in the public context – and it even may be time for a name change.

So what is and isn’t PTSD? And where does the science, the public conversation and the public policy around PTSD need to go next?