In a 2009 a plan to designate Nagasaki survivors as suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for the purpose of compensation failed to gain approval, and the designation was dropped from official guidelines. A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) and their advocates rejected the designation, arguing that hibakusha should be designated as radiation victims and not “merely” as victims of long-term psychological effects. This rejection of the category of trauma as a legitimate disorder has a long history in Japan. Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors were denied psychological care for almost half a century, and it was only following the 1995 Kobe earthquake that Japanese psychiatrists started large scale epidemiological surveys on survivors. This delay was doubly tragic as Hiroshima and Nagasaki played a crucial role in the history of PTSD. Robert J. Lifton, one of the members of the committee that inserted PTSD into the DSM, started his career in Hiroshima. Lifton’s work, and that of his colleagues brought together the experiences of hibakusha, Holocaust survivors and Vietnam veterans in their campaign for PTSD. Lifton also played a role in the later introduction of the category into Japan. This story, however, is not a Whig like history of science triumphing against the odds. As evident by the fact that it was survivors themselves that rejected trauma, the history of nuclear trauma is much more complex. Focusing on the careers of Lifton, and two of his Japanese contemporaries, psychiatrist Konuma Masaho and sociologist Ishida Tadashi, my talk will examine the reactions to the psychological toll of the A-bomb in both perpetrator and victim communities. The denial of trauma, I argue, was not a simple cover up, nor was it a case of intentional blindness to the suffering brought about by the nuclear attack. Rather, practitioners and victims alike understood the experience differently. Institutional entanglement with Cold War politics, the symbolic importance of the survivors, and the impact of radiation further muddied the diagnostic waters and led to the failure of the emergent notion of trauma to gain a foothold in the stricken cities.

Learning Objectives

• Examine the reactions of the psychological professions in Japan and the US to the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
• Examine the reactions to the psychological toll of the A-bomb in both perpetrator and victim communities.
• Examine the reaction of the professions in Israel and Germany, to the plight of Holocaust survivors.
• Compare and contrast the connections between the effect of Hiroshima and the Holocaust to survivors of the events.
• Evaluate the reason behind the denial of trauma for Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors.

Target Audience

Psychiatrists, residents/fellows, medical students, non-psychiatrist physicians

Estimated Time to Complete

Estimated Duration: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Event Date: July 6, 2022
Credit Claim Date: September 9, 2022

How to Earn Credit

Participants who wish to earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ may do so after completing all sections of the course including the evaluation. After evaluating the program, course participants will be provided with an opportunity to claim hours of participation and print an official CME certificate (physicians) or certificate of participation (non-physicians) showing the completion date and hours earned.

Continuing Education Credit

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American Psychiatric Association designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and LifeStance Health. The APA is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Planning Committee and Faculty Disclosures

Faculty Disclosures

• Ran Zwigenberg, Associate Professor of Asian Studies, History, and Jewish Studies, Pennsylvania State University, has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Planning Committee

• Violet Moloney, Instructional Designer at APA, has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
• Benjamin Buchholz, MPH Instructional Designer at APA, has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Accessibility for Participants with Disabilities

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Technical Requirements

This internet-based CME activity is best experienced using any of the following:

• The latest and 2nd latest public versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari
• Internet Explorer 11+

This Web site requires that JavaScript and session cookies be enabled. Certain activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of the content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be: Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player.

Optimal System Configuration:

• Browser: Google Chrome (latest and 2nd latest version), Safari (latest and 2nd latest version), Internet Explorer 11.0+, Firefox (latest and 2nd latest version), or Microsoft Edge (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Operating System: Windows versions 8.1+, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) +, Android (latest and 2nd latest version), or iOS/iPad OS (latest and 2nd latest version)
• Internet Connection: 1 Mbps or higher

Minimum Requirements:

• Windows PC: Windows 8.1 or higher; 1 GB (for 32-bit)/2 GB (for 64-bit) or higher RAM; Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content
• Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.5 or higher with latest updates installed; Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor; 512 MB or higher RAM; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content

For assistance: Contact educme@psych.org for questions about this activity | Contact learningcenter@psych.org for technical assistance