The Dr. Peter Breggin Hour – 04.17.19

My guest today is the “Best of the Best,” Commander in the US Navy, Mary Neal Vieten, PhD. This psychologist directs a most extraordinary program to help active duty and retired warfighters to reconsider psychiatric medications, to deal with trauma and other blocks to success, and to achieve new goals for themselves. Especially impressive to me is the thoroughness with which she has dispatched the medical model and all the lingo associated with it in order to remove all stigma and to focus on empowerment. Commander Vieten is accomplishing one of the single most important goals we can aspire to—the successful development of non-medical, educational and caring-based programs for people who are suffering from severe emotional stress compounded by dreadful medical diagnoses and treatment. I am deeply appreciative of her work. One of my most esteemed audience members just texted me, “Exceptional episode! One of my favorites.” Commander Vieten’s approach called Warfighter ADVANCE is at the cutting edge of improved services for those who need to be treated as human beings rather than as patients and disease entities.