Everly George S
Int J Emerg Ment Health. 2003 Spring;5(2):57-9.
At the end of the last century international terrorist groups declared war on the United States. Rather than pursue this war using conventional means, terrorist tactics have been employed. Terrorism represents psychological warfare, not traditional military combat. Threats of assassination, bioterrorism, and even nuclear detonations have been used. Numerous attacks have subsequently been realized against both domestic and international American targets. Winning the war against terrorism means acknowledging and responding to the psychological dynamics inherent in this form of warfare, as well as the military and law enforcement aspects of the war. Consistent with Caplan's notions of preventive psychiatry, the fight against terrorism must occur on three levels: (1) prevention of the terrorist attacks themselves, (2) mitigating the adverse psychological impact of the persistent threats of terrorist acts, as well as the terrorist attacks when they do occur, and (3) psychological treatment of the lingering adverse effects of threatened or actualized terrorist attacks. The preplanned and/or coordinated psychological efforts to counteract terrorism and prevail in any given war against terrorism shall be herein discussed and subsequently referred to as "psychological counterterrorism."
上世纪末，国际恐怖组织向美国宣战。恐怖组织并未采用传统手段进行这场战争，而是运用了恐怖主义策略。恐怖主义是心理战，而非传统军事战斗。他们使用了暗杀威胁、生物恐怖主义甚至核爆炸威胁。随后，针对美国国内外目标的众多袭击得以实施。赢得反恐战争意味着要认识并应对这种战争形式所固有的心理动态，以及战争中的军事和执法层面。与卡普兰的预防性精神病学理念一致，反恐斗争必须在三个层面展开：（1）预防恐怖袭击本身；（2）减轻恐怖主义行为持续威胁以及恐怖袭击发生时所产生的不利心理影响；（3）对受到威胁或实际发生的恐怖袭击所产生的长期不利影响进行心理治疗。本文将讨论在任何特定反恐战争中为对抗恐怖主义并取得胜利而预先计划和/或协调的心理努力，随后将其称为“心理反恐”。
