U.S. ignores trauma of returning soldiers at its peril, warns PTSD specialist

Dr. Bessel van der Kolk shakes his head when he hears U.S. presidential candidates trying to out-pledge each other in hunting down ISIS militants.His response is as simple as it is heartfelt: "Oh, no. There's going to be more war and more trauma."

Van der Kolk is a psychiatrist and the medical director of the Trauma Center in Boston, and the bestselling author ofThe Body Keeps the Score. He believes there's a growing crisis in the United Statesthat warrants abroad publicdebate, but he knows it won't happen.

"It's very painful to hear what's not being talked about," he said. "You need truth in packaging before you send people off to war."

Van derKolk says the prospects for Americans coming home after serving inAfghanistan, Iraq or other conflict zones are grim.

A large proportion of them are unable to work, and rates of post-traumatic stress disorder andsuicide among veterans are worrying. Manyreturning service membersend up drawing their families into their own trauma, but the military has little in the way of support for those relatives, so the cycle of trauma continues.

Van der Kolkcalls it a national crisis that the U.S. is not willing to face.

"It has certain implications of taking care of hurt and wounded people that would involve some societal transformations which America is not ready for yet," he said in a three-part series on CBC's Ideas.

Listen to the program here:

• Part 1: How childhood trauma affects health

Ideas53:59All In The Family, Part 1

Mary O'Connell explores the "Adverse Childhood Experiences" or ACE study and how its findings are being integrated into medical practice today.

• Part 2: Trauma and academic underachievement

Ideas53:59All In The Family, Part 2

Childhood trauma is increasingly being seen as a major factor in academic under-achievement. Mary O'Connell explores what happened at one high school when suspensions and punishments were replaced with new "trauma-informed" approaches.

• Part 3: Trauma, a problem of mind and body

Ideas54:00All In The Family, Part 3

Trauma is not a story about the past -- it lives in the present: in both the mind and body. Left untreated, it has no expiration date, whether it's trauma arising from childhood abuse or PTSD suffered as an adult.