Leonard Neff (July 8, 1925 – March 26, 2006) was an American psychiatrist, known for his work with military veterans and adolescents and his work on

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...

(PTSD).Jocelyn Y. Stewart
Leonard Neff, 80; Doctor Diagnosed Vets' Stress
''Los Angeles Times'' (April 9, 2006). Neff was also known for his successful resolution of a high-profile hostage event which took place in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1974 and in which three people were held at gunpoint by a

Vietnam War veteran A Vietnam veteran is a person who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and ot ...

who was experiencing a flashback to his wartime experiences.

Early life and education

Neff was born in Peoria, Illinois on July 8, 1925. He studied at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

before being drafted in the U.S. Army, where he served in the

Pacific Theater of World War II The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the Theater (warfare), theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, ...

but did not experience combat.

Career

Work with veterans

Neff was a founding member of the Vietnam Veteran's Working Group, a group of mental health professionals who met at a meeting of the American Psychological Association in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

in the early 1970s and who believed that veterans of the Vietnam War often experienced a unique set of psychological problems that were not being addressed by the greater mental health care community. In her 2005 autobiography ''My Life So Far'', Jane Fonda describes Neff's work with Vietnam veterans, along with that of fellow psychiatrists

Robert Lifton Robert Jay Lifton (born May 16, 1926) is an American psychiatrist and author, chiefly known for his studies of the psychological causes and effects of wars and political violence, and for his theory of thought reform. He was an early proponent o ...

, Chaim Shatan, and Sarah Haley, as "tireless and empathetic".

1974 hostage event

In 1974 a 22-year-old Vietnam veteran named Johnny Gabron escaped from the Brentwood, California Veteran's Administration hospital while having a flashback to his combat experiences in Vietnam. He took three people hostage at gunpoint in

Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Ameri ...

, Los Angeles, and subsequently demanded to speak to his psychiatrist, Neff. Neff was flown in by helicopter (police blockades and news coverage caused the area of the city around the park to become gridlocked soon after incident began), and three hours later was able to end the armed standoff without incident. The issue increased public awareness of PTSD.

Later career

In 1995, Neff and his wife Essie, a psychotherapist, established the Child Development Institute in

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

Death

Neff died on March 26, 2006, at his home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, at the age of 80, of pancreatic cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neff, Robert American psychiatrists 1925 births 2006 deaths University of Illinois alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in California