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Veterans’ PTSD and Moral Injury Centered in Documentary ‘Healing a Soldier's Heart’

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Ric Ryan, a 67-year old former Vietnam vet, hugs his dog, "Hanes," in his home in Murphys, California in Calaveras County on February 23, 2013. Every Tuesday, he drives 35-miles to the veteran's clinic in Sonora for treatment of what he now knows is PTSD. (Gary Friedman/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Airdate: Thursday, November 13 at 10 AM

During the Civil War, “Soldier’s Heart” was the name given to the symptoms we now associate with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. While the condition has had many names in the decades – and wars – that have followed, its toll on soldiers has not abated. Between 11 and 15 percent of Vietnam War veterans are still suffering from PTSD, 50 years after the end of the war. The documentary “Healing a Soldier’s Heart” follows four veterans reckoning with PTSD and with moral injury – the psychological harm we experience when we violate our moral code. We talk with the filmmaker, a Vietnam War veteran and a psychologist about what it looks like to heal.

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Guests:

Shira Maguen, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, UCSF Medical School; staff psychologist, San Francisco VA Medical Center PTSD Program

Stephen Olsson, director and producer, “Healing A Soldier's Heart”

Levie Isaacks, decorated Vietnam Army platoon leader (Bronze Star for heroism) and veteran

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