By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Friday May 2, 2008 14:22:34 EDT
After a series of congressional hearings showed that gaps remain in mental health care for veterans, the Veterans Affairs Department announced Friday it is allocating an additional $2 million to the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
A recent Rand Corp. study found that more than 300,000 combat veterans suffer from PTSD or major depression - a number that mirrors the Defense Department's own studies.
But Rand found that only 50 percent of them receive care - and of those, only half received "minimally adequate" care - or care proven to be effective in treating PTSD.
The Defense Department, as well as Rand, have also found that significant issues remain in combating stigma surrounding PTSD. Many troops still think that their leaders will find them weak if they seek care, that a mental health issue could ruin their careers, that they'll be prescribed anti-depressants with harmful side effects or that they'll be denied security clearances.
The Institutes of Medicine has found insufficient research in determining which therapies and medications work best for PTSD. Research for medications has been conducted only by the pharmaceutical industry, raising the possibility of biased results, and the Defense Department and VA often rely on group therapy, which has not been proven effective for PTSD.
Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said the funding came after a series of conversations between senators and VA Secretary Dr. James Peake.
"An increasing number of veterans are struggling with PTSD and other mental health issues, which increases the demands placed on the National Center to research new and more effective ways of treating this disorder," Akaka said in a prepared statement.
He also said the VA's budget for the Center has been flat for the past five years, and that staff levels are lower than in 1999.
The Defense Department also announced a new policy this week designed to combat the stigma of mental health care.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Thursday that the government no longer will ask about PTSD during the security clearance process. One question in the process asks if a person has ever sought help for mental health issues, which Gates called a hindrance to care.
"A year ago last February, the Army inspector general concluded that a number of soldiers were not seeking help, in part because they felt that seeking mental health help would endanger their security clearance and perhaps their career," Gates said during a briefing at Fort Bliss, Texas.
"It now is clear, to people who answer that question, that they can answer no if they have sought help to deal with their combat stress, in general terms."
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/05/military_ptsd_funding_050208w/
