Being a Spy Can Be Pretty Stressful. The CIA is Trying to Help

Article/Op-Ed in In the Room with Peter Bergen
Jan. 30, 2024

In Episode 39 of his podcast "In the Room with Peter Bergen," New America Vice President and ASU Professor of Practice Peter Bergen examines how the CIA handles work-related stress and mental health:

The job comes with all sorts of risks and responsibilities plus exposure to a lot of violence and trauma — whether that’s out in a war zone or in the office, where analysts may work on cases involving horrific human rights abuses. All of that can take its toll. CIA Director William Burns has acknowledged the agency needs to do more to “take care” of its officers. You’ll hear how stressful and crushing intelligence can be from former intelligence officers who did it and from the CIA’s top psychologist and the CIA’s new wellbeing chief, about what can be done about it.

Listen to the episode here, and see the full set of episodes here.