Evening star., 1941-01-02
Psychiatric Session
Considers Problems
OF Selecting Soldiers
Elimination of Mentally
Unstable Subject at
Two-Doy Seminar
BY CARTER BROOKE JONES.

| by CARTER BkOOkE JONES. |
How to weed out mentally un- |
| stable individuals from prospective i
recruits for Americas new citizen |
army was the main theme of two
day psychiatric seminar-the first of |
Nationwide series of regional con- |
! ferences-which began at the Pub |
lie Health Building today. under the |
auspices of the selective service sys-
| tenn.
Guests included local draft board |
| physicians from the District, Mary |
land Virginia, West Virginia, North |
Carolina and Delaware.
Leading Government psychiatrists, |
in papers on symptoms and charac-
| erlStlcs Of mental and nervous dis |
eases. admitted that the signs of per-
5onallty disorders often are subtle |
ana difficult to detect, but suggested !
| that whenever doubt arises in the |
mind of the examining doctor. he
refer the case to his regional med |
ical advisory board, which will in
clude psychiatrist.
The experience of the World |
War, said selective service med
lcal circular prepared for examing
physicians all over the country, |
showed that mental disorder in |
| soldiers was one of the main prob !
lens present both in the United |
States and the expeditionary force"
Hope to Save Hospital Expense.
The military medical authorities |
hope to prevent this to a large |
| extent during the present mobiliza-
ton Of defense man power from
civil life.
Mental or personality difficulties"
the Army and Navy specialists |
added ARE revealed in the persons !
performances with other people who
have come to mean something to |
him. Strangers may be met with
an effective protective mask, con-
ventional manner The examiner |
is a stranger unless and until he
has overcome this reserve.
This approach to the registrant |
can seldom be achieved by show !
of force or authority. A pose OF
fortunate. The most successful ap- |
proach is often one of straight
forward professional inquiry, coupled |
with real respect for the registrant's |
personality and due consideration |
for his feeling"
Selectlve service, it was explained, |
hopes to save the Government the |
prolonged expense of soldiers con-
signed indefinitely to veterans
neuro- -psychiatric hospitals - and, |
more important, to spare the men
years of mental conflict often re- |
sulting from an effort TO force mill !
tary training on men incapable OF !
adjusting themselves to such life. |
Introductory remarks at the OPEN /
ing conference were made by c. A. '
DykStra. director of SeleCtive service. :
Other addresses on the morning
program were The Mission of the :
Psychiatrist" by DR.. Lewellys Bar !
ker, former chief of medicine at |
Johns Hopkins Hospital; Military |
Psychiatry and the Selective Serv-
ice" by 1t Col William c. Porter,
Medical Corps, U. S. A., and |
"Psychiatric Experiences of the Vet !
erans Administration, by Dr. Mar
tin Cooley of the Veterans Admins
tration.
DIR. Sullivan to Speak.
At the afternoon session DR.. Harry !
Stack Sullivan of the William Alan |
son White Psychiatric Foundation
was to speak and conduct general |
discussion on practical Psychiatry
At a session tonight, to be held /.
at the interior Department Audi |
torium, Federal Security Admins
traitor Paul V. McNutt will speak |
on What We expect of Psychiatry
in This National Defense Program /
and Dr.. James Stuart Plant, director !
of the Essex County IN. j. Clinic, |
will discuss The Psychiatric Chal- /.
lenge in Selective Service
Dr.. Winfred Overholser, superin- /
| tendent Of st. Elizabeths Hospital, |
is general chairman Of the seminar. |
DR.. Dykstra presided at the opening |
sessions. and Brig. Gen. Lewis B. |
Hershey. deputy director of selective
service, will preside in the evening. |
Tomorrows sessions will be held |
at the auditorium of the Army |
Medical Center. Walter Reed Hos
pital. Each paper will be discussed |
informally by a panel of psychiat-
rists from medical advisory boards |
of eelectiVe SerVice and ArmV in !