Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury [DCoE]

DCoE August Webinar: Help for Civilian Health Care Providers Treating Service Members with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

By DCoE Strategic Communications

Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury will host its next webinar, “Posttraumatic Stress Disorder 101: Education for the Civilian Health Care Provider Treating Service Members” from 1 to 2:30 p.m. (EDT) Aug. 23.

Published studies show that 10-17 percent of service members self-report symptoms indicating they have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) post-deployment. According to the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, just 2.4 percent of service members returning from Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom have been clinically diagnosed with PTSD. That number is considered small because of the stigma related to receiving psychological health care and a PTSD diagnosis.

Civilian and military health care providers should be aware that PTSD is associated with many comorbid conditions, including heart disease, susceptibility to infections and chronic pain. Service members are likely to seek medical attention for the comorbid conditions, creating the opportunity for health care providers to identify, treat, monitor and refer patients with PTSD, thereby increasing their chances of getting help.

In this webinar, subject matter experts will discuss trauma and treatment with the goal of enhancing civilian health care providers’ knowledge when treating service members and veterans with PTSD.

Featured speakers are:

Terence Keane, Ph.D., Department of Veterans Affairs Boston Health Care System, research and development associate chief of staff
Army Maj. Jeff Hall, First Army Headquarters, operations training officer

All professionals who care for service members are encouraged to attend, including service members and their families. You may register now, or review further information.

Continuing education units and continuing medical education credits are available. To obtain credits, you must pre-register using the Adobe Connect platform.

NEW! The American Psychological Association approved St. Louis University School of Medicine to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.

Comments

Can PTSD cause any long term/permanent medical conditions -- if so, what?

tim on 8/15/2012 at 2:48 PM

I am working with trauma clients of all kind and am always interested to learn more. Thanks for the offer.

Beate Gottschlich on 8/15/2012 at 11:45 PM

I need all training to qualify to provide service to military personnel.

Annie Wells, Ph.D. on 8/16/2012 at 6:27 AM

Unable to register for your course on line.

CDR Daniel J. Hohman, USN on 8/16/2012 at 7:47 PM

@Tim, Several studies have looked at the long-term effects of stress and the results are not good. Long-term stress can actually shrink a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which can lead to poor memory and reduce visual functioning. The hippocampus tends to regrow with treatment. The National Center for PTSD studied your question and found that people who experienced extreme stress reported poorer physical health, often in the form of heart disease and chronic fatigue syndrome as well as shortened lifespans. Possible reasons for these effects include increased heart strain caused by being so stressed out, health problems caused by consistent poor sleep, and an overactive thyroid caused by chronic stress. Also, people who are constantly stressed tend to smoke and drink more than most people. You can read more here: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/newsletters/research-quarterly/V7N3.pdf

Dr. Jim Bender on 8/17/2012 at 12:01 PM

@Beate, We’re glad you’ll be joining us and hope you enjoy the webinar.

DCoE Strategic Communications on 8/17/2012 at 12:02 PM

@CDR Hohman, Sorry you’re having difficulties registering for the webinar. If problems persist, please send an email to DCoE.MonthlyWebinar@tma.osd.mil.
Registration link for the August webinar: https://dcoe.adobeconnect.com/_a1124277231/dcoeaugustwebinar/event/registration.html

DCoE Strategic Communications on 8/17/2012 at 12:06 PM

As a VA contracted vendor providing post-acute brain injury rehabilitation to our Veterans, we appreciate the opportunity to participate in and share this webinar.

Lynn Tomaio on 8/22/2012 at 3:01 PM

@Lynn, Thanks for participating in this month’s webinar. We hope you enjoyed it. The presentation, audio and resources are now available on the DCoE website: www.dcoe.health.mil/webinars. In September, the topic is on managing suicidal behaviors; information and registration details will be available soon.

DCoE Strategic Communications on 8/24/2012 at 11:26 AM

How do I receive my certificate for attendance to this webinar? any help with this would be great.

Dr Neal Houston on 8/27/2012 at 10:13 AM

@Dr. Houston, Certificates of attendance are available for those who pre-registered for the webinar on or before Aug. 23. You can download your certificate of attendance from the following website: http://conf.swankhealth.com/dcoe. Details are also in the email response to your registration. The Swank HealthCare website will remain open until Sept. 24, 2012 for registrants to obtain their CE/CME credit for the DCoE August webinar. If you did not register for the webinar, you will not be able to receive CE/CME credit for this event.

For more information about DCoE Monthly Webinars, visit www.dcoe.health.mil/webinars. You can also send webinar questions to DCoE.MonthlyWebinar@tma.osd.mil.

DCoE Strategic Communications on 8/27/2012 at 7:04 PM

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DCoE August Webinar: Help for Civilian Health Care Providers Treating Service Members with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

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