Mental health experts to deal with the Iraqis' "battle fatigue'

Mental health experts to deal with the Iraqis' "battle fatigue'

By JOHN ANASTASI
The Intelligencer
It has been widely reported that suicide bombings, sectarian violence, kidnappings, poverty, displacement and corruption have taken a deadly toll on the Iraqi people.

But less often discussed is the cumulative psychological impact — the so-called battle fatigue — that environment has had on the country's citizens.

“Even before the last couple of years, this was a place where whole villages were being gassed (under Saddam Hussein) and people were fleeing,” said psychiatrist Karl Benzio, executive director of Doylestown Township's Lighthouse Network. “In this country there is a dire need for mental health assistance. There is addiction, physical and sexual abuse, child abuse, depression, suicide...War and terrorism throughout life brings mental health woes.”

So the Lighthouse Network, a nonprofit Christian ministry, is sending Benzio and two colleagues in the behavioral health field to Iraq to lead a series of conferences to help the country's healthcare officials provide services for those people.

On Sunday, Benzio, psychologist Jeff Black and therapist/social worker Leslie Vernick will fly to the Kurdish city of Ebil in northern Iraq, where they will spend five days at the invitation of the Kurdish Regional Government's minister of health.

In a country that is 95 percent Muslim, the three Christians — Black is assistant pastor at Philadelphia Biblical University and Vernick is an Allentown-based Christian author and therapist — will speak to audiences of Iraqi psychiatrists, nurses, social workers, medical students, counselors and doctors. They will cover how to listen to and communicate with families whose children are ill and couples with marital and parenting issues.

“I'll lecture on topics related to psychotherapy and diagnosis,” Black said. “They'll probably want us to talk about trauma-related things, marriage and family things. We're going over there with a lot of knowledge, but I'm not sure we'll know how to apply it until we get there.”


The trip was funded by a group of Christian businessmen and arranged with help from T.H. Properties' co-founder Todd Hendricks, who is a member of the board of trustees at Philadelphia Biblical University.

“My first thought was "I'd better ask my wife,' ” said Black. “Really, I think it's a phenomenal opportunity. For me, it's a first.”

Benzio stressed that while the Sunni-Shiite violence has been prominent in the southern section of Iraq, Kurdistan has been relatively peaceful. Still, they will have their work cut out for them as Iraqis struggle with hopelessness and despair, which can lead to anger, abuse and addiction.

“Take Katrina and imagine 24 years of it,” said Benzio, who recently co-chaired the Bucks Mont Katrina Relief Project's mental health subcommittee. “That's how it is there, the sense of battle fatigue.”

The group will also speak at a few of the local Christian churches, which have seen a small resurgence since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

For now, the group is reviewing some cultural materials covering how to interact with the Iraqi people and what to wear. Benzio also learned to leave a little bit of food on the plate at the end of each meal. If they do not, their hosts will keep providing more. That was good advice for Benzio, who grew up doing the opposite.

“I come from an Italian family, where you're supposed to clean your plate,” he said.

John Anastasi can be reached at (215) 345-3079 or janastasi@phillyBurbs.com.