The Veteran's Administration (VA) has documented nearly 50,000 cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) just among the military personnel who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

This high frequency should not be surprising: An earlier VA study found that 31 percent of Vietnam veterans suffered PTSD at some time after their service.

This current surge of PTSD is especially troublesome, though, because the military leadership, as it has often done in the past, failed to prepare for it, tended to ignore PTSD sufferers, or accused them of being cowards when they stepped forward.

Equally worrisome are the findings of a recent study by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Performed at the request of the Department of Veterans Affairs, this study reviewed the therapeutic options currently being used in the U.S. to treat PTSD. After examining over 90 studies, the IOM concluded that there is insufficient evidence to support the effectiveness of any of the drugs now used to treat the disorder.

Further, the evidence did not favor any form of psychotherapy, except for "exposure therapy." Exposure therapy uses mental imaging exercises that allow patients to re-experience the traumatic event in a controlled environment, while observers examine the reaction and beliefs of the patients in relation to the event.

The frequency of PTSD among our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, coupled with the ineffectiveness of our current treatment regimens, paints a grim picture of a problem that is likely to be with us for a long time after we get our military out of harm's way.