[Psychiatry and the Great War]

During the World War I, the high rate of psychiatric casualties was differently tackled according to the nations: the Central Powers carried an authoritarian approach with prevailing physical treatment methods whereas the Allies' attitude reflected their democratic background. Particularly French psychiatry demonstrated a real willingness and ability to respond to the clinical realities. The conceptual problem of what DSM IV now classified as acute stress disorder was resolved so successfully that this disorder deserves the eponym "Viovenel's Syndrome". American Military Psychiatry followed the French methods of precise diagnosis and expeditious treatment close to the front and amplified them by creating effective treatment methods : brief psychotherapy methods and group psychotherapy within a therapeutic environment. Franco-American psychiatry thereby created the foundation for modern community psychiatry.