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PTSD Monthly Update: Advancing Science and Promoting Understanding of Traumatic Stress |
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News relevant to the issues of trauma and PTSD
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This Month's Feature: Returning from the War Zone
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| Over 2 million U.S. troops have deployed to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past decade. The experiences they have while in the military and during deployment stay with them for the remainder of their lives. They also face many challenges, witnessing the death or injury of friends or other military personnel, civilians, or enemy combatants. Reunion can be a time of considerable stress for both troops and family too. Some service members say that coming home may actually be harder than going to war.
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Returning from War
In order to get through homecoming as smoothly as possible, it is helpful to know what to expect during reintegration and the kinds of issues you, or someone you know, might face. Learn more from the Returning from the War Zone Guides. These two guides, one for troops and one for families, provide information to help smooth the reintegration process. Learn what to expect as part of normal reintegration, as well as how to tell if problems are in need of professional attention.
Military Families
Both troops and their families need to readjust and understand things before, during, and following deployment. Deployment stress affects families and here is some additional information to help.
· Coping When a Family Member Has Been Called to War
Suggestions to help families cope before, during, and after a partner is deployed to a war.
· Children Coping with Deployment
Explains how children react to a parent's going to war, with suggestions for helping children cope.
· How Deployment Stress Affects Families
The deployment of a service member to a combat zone can be extremely challenging for a family.
All of those who return from deployment to war are affected, but only a few go on to develop more serious mental health issues like PTSD. Each conflict offers new challenges. The video The New Warrior: Combat Stress and Wellness for Veterans and Family, narrated by Tom Brokaw, covers some of the issues newly returning troops face. Did you know that approximately 12% of these returning of troops are women? Watch Women Who Served in Our Military to learn more about specific issues for female troops; hosted by Jane Pauley.
Life Stressors
Life stressors such as financial problems, relationship conflict and lack of employment choices, can add to readjustment difficulties. In the Web Resource Links section of our Website, find links to many other Veteran and military resources. Included are Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) like the American Legion and VVA. Also find the National Resource Directory, with links to 10,000+ resources that support recovery for Service Members, Veterans, their families and those that support them.
Self Help and Coping
Read about some active ways to cope with traumatic stress, including tips for coping with specific PTSD symptoms. Also learn about negative coping strategies that you should avoid. Android and iPhone users can download the free mobile app PTSD Coach for more coping suggestions. Veterans can also speak directly with another combat Veteran by calling the 24/7 Veteran Combat Call Center: 1-877-927-8387 (WAR-VETS).
Part of self help involves getting assistance when it is called for. Be sure to know how to Discuss Trauma and PTSD with Your Doctor and know where to get care. Each VA medical center and many VA clinics provide PTSD care. VA Medical Centers and Vet Centers are listed in the phone book or can be found online in the VA Facility Locator. In the Government pages of the phone book, look under "United States Government Offices." Then look for "Veterans Affairs, Dept of." In that section, look under "Medical Care" and "Vet Centers - Counseling and Guidance."
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| You can also find a VA PTSD Program near you. These VA programs specialize in PTSD treatment including outpatient and residential programs.
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For Providers and Researchers
Specific Types of Providers
Chaplains, law officials, primary care and OB/GYN doctors, and journalists can check out our new resources targeted to specific types of providers. This section includes a course on Military Culture to help providers understand this subculture. You can also get a glimpse of what it was like to be deployed to Iraq from the PTSD 101 feature: Iraq Never Leaves Us. Marine Reservist Bob Page shares his story to provide the viewer with an "up-close and personal" view of "What's it like over there?" in the combat theater of Iraq via his personal photos.
Assessing and Treating Veterans
To screen patients for PTSD, use the PC-PTSD Screen or any of several other PTSD screening tools. Screens are brief questionnaires that may identify people who are more likely to have PTSD. A positive response to the screen does not necessarily indicate that a patient has PTSD. However, a positive response does indicate that a patient may have PTSD or trauma-related problems, and further investigation of trauma symptoms by a mental health professional is warranted.
There are many other more detailed assessments that can be used. The Deployment Risk and Resiliency Inventory was developed specifically for use with military samples. This suite of measures includes 14 relevant factors.
All of the treatment resources you find on www.ptsd.va.gov are applicable to Veterans as well as other traumatized individuals. Also be sure to see the materials specific to treating Veterans including the Iraq War Clinician Guide. VA and DoD recently revised the PTSD Clinical Practice Guidelines to provide the best guidance on how to work with returning service members who develop PTSD.
Provider Training
Over the next year a new PTSD 101 series is being released. This group of courses will cover the revised VA/DoD PTSD Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) and will offer free CE's. Take the first course in the CPG series now: Recommendations for Acute Stress Management and Prevention of PTSD.
Also, be sure to sign up for the Military Health System Learning which is for DoD, VA and other providers.
Information For VA Providers
Specifically for VA Providers and Staff
A new page with additional materials specifically for VA employees to use when working with Veterans.
VA PTSD Consultation Program
For timely and confidential discussion with an experienced PTSD consultant, VA providers can contact us at: 1-866-948-7880 or vaww.ptsd.va.gov. This program is available free of charge to ANY VA provider who has questions about PTSD. Consultation topics have included (to name a few):
· complex therapy cases
· medication questions
· program referrals
· alternative and complementary treatments
· diagnostic and assessment questions
We are hearing from many VA clinicians who do not have ready access to an expert in PTSD. All questions are welcome. The Consultation Program staff look forward to hearing from you!
The Staff of the VA PTSD Consultation Program
National Center for PTSD Research Highlights
Research is ongoing to help us better understand and help those who are dealing with challenges following deployment, as well as following other trauma. Our Behavioral Science Division is testing PTSD-Focused Relationship Enhancement Therapy, a relationship enhancement group intervention for married or partnered Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Veterans and their partners to prevent the perpetration of intimate partner aggression. This intervention incorporates components of several interventions for these two problems and targets mechanisms implicated in the PTSD-intimate partner aggression association.
Other PTSD News
SAMMY Award nominee
Dr. Matthew Friedman, Executive Director of the National Center for PTSD, is a finalist for the prestigious SAMMY Award for his pioneering work on PTSD and trauma. He is among an array of incredible civil servants whose contributions have earned them accolades and advanced their field of study. We commend all of these dedicated individuals. The winners are decided September 15, 2011 in a ceremony in Washington, DC honoring all the finalists.
VA Launches Childcare Pilot
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced the launch of free, drop-in childcare service centers at three VA medical centers. The pilot centers are part of VA's continuing effort to improve access to health care for eligible Veterans, particularly the growing number of women Veterans. All the pilot childcare centers will be operated onsite by licensed childcare providers. Drop-in services are offered free to Veterans who are eligible for VA care and visiting a facility for an appointment.
VA-Army Agreement Helping Transform Health Care for Patients
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of the Army are working together to provide cutting-edge simulation-based training for medical staff to enhance the quality of patient care at VA medical facilities across the Nation. The SimLEARN Program was established by VA to develop national simulation-based clinical training throughout its more than 150 medical centers around the Nation. To learn more about the SimLEARN program, visit www.simlearn.va.gov.
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Sincerely,
The Staff of the National Center for PTSD
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Jodi Kluchar
www.ptsdafterchildbirth.org
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