 Individual treatment is supplemented by group activities. Particularly important is group psychotherapy. Let's think of it a little bit like this. We want to get you out of your feeling of isolation. Therefore, it is important that you learn to understand something of the basic cause of your distress, that you learn to understand... Patients are given some information as to the cause of their condition and under skilled direction discuss their difficulties, helping each other to overcome the false sense of shame that often accompanies mental and nervous disorders. Your inner conflicts are, with variations, common to all men. Many of these conflicts start way back in early childhood. Without you men will find it easy to recall things that disturb your feeling of security in childhood. Fears, hatreds, jealousies, and so on. Let's see if you can give some illustrations of this kind. I did anything wrong that I was ashamed of. I was always ashamed to go and tell my parents what I'd done. Well, that's about how I felt too. I kept it to myself if I did anything wrong. I know I used to be in a constant fear that my parents would find out what I was doing. Well, you both did about the same thing. In other words, you both used the same method to get relief from anxiety. In the occupational therapy shop, art and craft work establish a new confidence through the satisfaction of a job well done. Some patients try their hands at specialized vocational skills in which future employment offers a strong incentive. Supervised exercise affords a feeling of health and physical well-being. The give and take of competitive sports rebuilds confidence in badly shaken personalities. As a cooperative member of a group, the patient soon begins to feel at home again. Entertainment and social activities are vital steps in the patient's readjustment to normalcy, and throughout there is the continued individualized contact between doctor and patient. Oh, hello there. Come in. I was hoping you'd drop in. Sit down. Thank you, sir. I hear you're going to leave today. All right. I just stopped by to see you before it was time to go. Good. Glad you did. How are you feeling? Glad to get away? Well, you know how it is. I've been waiting for this for a long time. This is a pretty big day in my life. Of course it is. I hate to see my prized patients leaving, but what can I do? Well, goodbye, and best of luck to you. So long, Captain. Thanks. Summary and discharge note on... The patient leaving the hospital after long treatment is an end product of the Army's Neuropsychiatric Program. This program deals with complex and difficult problems, which have their beginning where the Army begins in the induction center. At this early stage, the first preventive step is taken to protect the individual as well as the Army. Careful screening assures that only the healthiest of our civilians enter the service. The preventive approach is implemented by an educational program in mental hygiene. Emphasis is placed on those facts which build and sustain the morale of Army personnel. When psychiatric breakdowns threaten or do occur, understanding and cooperation plus immediate recognition of early symptoms, followed by prompt treatment, promote a rapid return to health. Until proven otherwise, even the most serious cases are regarded as salvageable. All these elements combine to make the most of the human resources that are the backbone of any Army. An Army is no stronger than the population from which it is drawn. To keep America strong, we must strive to improve the physical and mental health of the whole nation through a deeper understanding of those factors which darken or lighten the all-important shades of gray.