Chaim F. Shatan
Encyclopedia
Chaim F. Shatan was a Canadian
psychiatrist
born in Włocławek, Poland
.
Shatan's parents moved to Canada when he was two. He received his MDCM degree from McGill University
in Montreal
, Canada. In 1949, he moved to New York City
and founded a private practice in psychiatry in the early 1950s.
Shatan had a long time interest in war and trauma and became deeply involved with Vietnam veteran
s in the late 1960s, responding to a request by one of the founders of Vietnam Veterans Against the War
, Jan "Barry" Crumb's invitation to form "rap groups" for veterans to speak about their emerging reactions. His article "Post-Vietnam Syndrome" was printed on the Op-Ed page of the New York Times (http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?query=shatan&srchst=p). He continued to advocate for Vietnam veterans and other of victims war, trauma and natural and manmade disasters. In 1974, Shatan found out that "traumatic war neurosis" had been eliminated from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(DSM), which is used to delineate psychological disorders. He founded the Vietnam Veterans Working Group with several colleagues,Robert Jay Lifton,Sarah Haley, Jack Smith and Arthur Egendorf. They relentlessly pursued the issue, and reached out to Mardi J. Horowitz M.D., the pioneer of experimental research in traumatic stress response, Harley Shands, M.D., Chief of Psychiatry at Roosevelt Hospital, who was working on worker's compensation cases, and William G. Niederland, M.D., who had initiated the study of reactions in concentration camp survivors with Henry Krystal. The group was successful in returning the diagnosis to the next edition of the book, DSM-III, under the new name "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
," a term which evolved from discussions between Shatan and the Working Group with Nancy Andreasen.
Shatan was also a founding member of the Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, now called the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
(http://www.istss.org/index.htm).
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
born in Włocławek, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Shatan's parents moved to Canada when he was two. He received his MDCM degree from McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada. In 1949, he moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and founded a private practice in psychiatry in the early 1950s.
Shatan had a long time interest in war and trauma and became deeply involved with Vietnam veteran
Vietnam veteran
Vietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War.The term has been used to describe veterans who were in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States armed forces, and countries allied to them, whether or...
s in the late 1960s, responding to a request by one of the founders of Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Vietnam Veterans Against the War
Vietnam Veterans Against the War is a tax-exempt non-profit organization and corporation, originally created to oppose the Vietnam War. VVAW describes itself as a national veterans' organization that campaigns for peace, justice, and the rights of all United States military veterans...
, Jan "Barry" Crumb's invitation to form "rap groups" for veterans to speak about their emerging reactions. His article "Post-Vietnam Syndrome" was printed on the Op-Ed page of the New York Times (http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?query=shatan&srchst=p). He continued to advocate for Vietnam veterans and other of victims war, trauma and natural and manmade disasters. In 1974, Shatan found out that "traumatic war neurosis" had been eliminated from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders...
(DSM), which is used to delineate psychological disorders. He founded the Vietnam Veterans Working Group with several colleagues,Robert Jay Lifton,Sarah Haley, Jack Smith and Arthur Egendorf. They relentlessly pursued the issue, and reached out to Mardi J. Horowitz M.D., the pioneer of experimental research in traumatic stress response, Harley Shands, M.D., Chief of Psychiatry at Roosevelt Hospital, who was working on worker's compensation cases, and William G. Niederland, M.D., who had initiated the study of reactions in concentration camp survivors with Henry Krystal. The group was successful in returning the diagnosis to the next edition of the book, DSM-III, under the new name "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
," a term which evolved from discussions between Shatan and the Working Group with Nancy Andreasen.
Shatan was also a founding member of the Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, now called the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, , was established on March 2, 1985 in Washington, D.C. for professionals to share information about the effects of trauma...
(http://www.istss.org/index.htm).