FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 31, 2007 |
Contact:
Marshall Wittmann, 202-224-4041
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Make Mental Health A Priority
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| When service members go untreated, the entire military suffers |
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Army Times Op-Ed
As members of Congress with very different views on the war in Iraq, we know how difficult it is to find consensus on this war. But there is one thing that should unite us all — our commitment to taking care of the physical and mental health needs of our service members.
Right now, the military's mental health care system is blinking red.
Each month, about 40 service members are evacuated from combat in Iraq because they suffer from severe mental health problems. The Defense Department has called post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury the "signature injuries" of the current conflict. It is estimated that one in every six returning service members suffers from PTSD, and one in every 10 has a TBI.
Yet, according to a groundbreaking new study by the congressionally established Defense Task Force on Mental Health, the military health system "lacks the fiscal resources and the full-trained personnel to fulfill its mission to support psychological health."
A recent series of news articles has illuminated these deficiencies in the military health system and the depth to which psychological wounds have impacted our service members.
Right now, there are no standard protocols in place for providing mental health treatment to all who need it. Mental health providers are in short supply — the Army has only 60 percent of the number of active-duty psychologists it says it needs. And at Fort Carson, Colo., mental health providers are so overburdened that they are only able to offer, on average, one 30- to 40-minute PTSD counseling session per month to each service member.
As a result of these problems, many service members are slipping through the cracks and not receiving the care they need. Short of therapists, the military health system has been reduced to dispensing psychotropic medications rather than delivering meaningful therapy.
The co-chairs of the Defense Task Force on Mental Health told us the week of July 9 that sweeping changes are needed in the military's mental health system. We need to invest in mental health care providers and infrastructure, offer better access to services for our military families, and educate and train our forces — particularly those in leadership positions — to immediately recognize and address mental health issues.
Above all, the task force stressed the importance of dispelling the stigma associated with mental health issues. As Adm. Donald Arthur, Navy surgeon general and co-chair of the task force, has said, "Physical health and psychological health are equally important. If you break your leg, it's not your fault. If you get cancer, it's not your fault. If you have combat stress, it's not your fault."
We must act to fix the urgent problems facing our military. The Senate Armed Services Committee recently passed the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act to help address the shortage of mental health professionals and to establish Centers of Excellence in PTSD and TBI that will provide comprehensive research on these injuries. We must implement it.
When our service members suffer from untreated mental health issues, the entire military suffers. Deploying troops with mental health disorders poses a risk to the troops themselves and to the safety of their units. Leaving mental health conditions untreated back home can result in erratic behavior, substance abuse, divorce and even suicide.
We have already lost more than 4,000 of America's brave sons and daughters in Iraq and Afghanistan. We shouldn't lose one more to mental illness when we can prevent it.
The health and mental well-being of our service members are vital to the effectiveness and long-term stability of our military and to the families and communities across our country from which our servicemen and women come.
Our troops put their lives on the line for our nation; we must fulfill our duty to provide them with the support they need to recover from mental health problems and resume normal lives.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., is serving his fourth term. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is serving her third term.
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