![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121021173607im_/http://dna.brainblogger.com/wp-content/themes/bb2/images/spacer.gif)
Motivation for Mental Health Care – All it Takes is a Phone Call
![Phone call Phone call](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121021173607im_/http://dna.brainblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/Phone-call-300x202.jpg)
Combat experience during military conflicts places service members at considerable risk for social and mental health disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, impaired social functioning, and decreased occupational functioning. More than half of the returning servicemen and women currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have at least one diagnosed mental health condition. Unfortunately, less than half of these veterans obtain the care they receive. A recent study, however, tapped into a way to motivate these men and women to obtain care: a phone call.
The study, published by the journal General Hospital Psychiatry, evaluated 73 veterans of the military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each had been diagnosed with at least one mental health disorder for which treatment was recommended, but none of them were currently receiving treatment. The veterans were randomly assigned to receive either traditional “check-in” phone calls (control group) or motivational interviews (the experimental group) at baseline and 2, 4, and 8 weeks. The interviewers who placed the phone calls to the experimental group held advanced degrees in psychology and received special training in motivational interviewing techniques. Using these techniques, the interviewers expressed empathy and encouraged people to explore their values and behaviors regarding obtaining mental healthcare.
Thirty-four veterans in the experimental group completed the experiment, along with 39 in the control group. In all, 21 (62%) members of the experimental group obtained mental healthcare after the motivational interviews, compared to just 10 (26%) in the control group. The veterans in the experimental group were also more likely to stay in treatment. The experimental group reported less marijuana use during the experiment and less stigma associated with mental health treatment.
Veterans volunteered to serve and protect our country, and the mental health toll that they incur too often comes with the territory of combat duty. The Veterans Administration has made it a priority to care for veterans, especially their mental health, but the service members themselves must be motivated to obtain and engage in care. Failing to receive mental health treatment can lead to chronic mental illness, social and occupational dysfunction, and, too often, suicide. The perception of stigma that accompanies mental healthcare is often cited as a common reason that veterans do not receive care.
Similar motivational techniques have been successfully employed in primary care settings, but few studies have been conducted in the mental health fields. However, these results are promising. If something as simple as a phone call can motivate brave men and women to seek the care they need, then a phone call is what they should get.
References
Hoge CW, Auchterlonie JL, & Milliken CS (2006). Mental health problems, use of mental health services, and attrition from military service after returning from deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association, 295 (9), 1023-32 PMID: 16507803
Hoge CW, Castro CA, Messer SC, McGurk D, Cotting DI, & Koffman RL (2008). Combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, mental health problems and barriers to care. U.S. Army Medical Department journal, 7-17 PMID: 20088060
Seal KH, Abadjian L, McCamish N, Shi Y, Tarasovsky G, & Weingardt K (2012). A randomized controlled trial of telephone motivational interviewing to enhance mental health treatment engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. General hospital psychiatry, 34 (5), 450-9 PMID: 22632925
Seal KH, Cohen G, Bertenthal D, Cohen BE, Maguen S, & Daley A (2011). Reducing barriers to mental health and social services for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans: outcomes of an integrated primary care clinic. Journal of general internal medicine, 26 (10), 1160-7 PMID: 21647750
Image via MalDix / Shutterstock.
4 Responses
[...] for Mental Health Care – All it Takes is a Phone Call – Brain Blogger (blog) Brain Blogger (blog)Motivation for Mental Health Care – All it Takes is a Phone CallBrain Blogger (blog)Combat [...]
[...] Motivation for Mental Health Care – All it Takes is a Phone Call Filed under: mental health organisations Seal KH, Cohen G, Bertenthal D, Cohen BE, Maguen S, & Daley A (2011). Reducing barriers to mental health and social services for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans: outcomes of an integrated primary care clinic. Journal of general internal medicine, 26 (10 … Read more on Brain Blogger (blog) [...]
Leave a Reply
Popular Posts
- Is Schizophrenia Really a Brain Disease?
- Full Recovery from Schizophrenia?
- Schizophrenia and Psychosis - Brain Disease or Existential Crisis?
- Cannabis and the Adolescent Brain
- The Science of Stuttering
- A Gateway to Weight Loss?
- Grumpy Granola Heads - How Organic Food Puts You in a Bad Mood
- The Cognitive Behavioral Miracle - Controlling your Emotions
- Coffee Every Day Keeps the Dementia Away
- What is Creativity? Art as a Symptom of Brain Disease
Future Posts
- Depressed About Wrinkles? BOTOX Can Help
- D is for Dementia – Vitamin D and Brain Health
- Understanding Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Pacifier Use Detrimental to Emotional Health
Latest Posts
- Obesity – Food Takes Over The Brain
- Retain Your Memory with a Brighter Smile
- Smoking and Adolescent Brain Development
- What Make Us Moral?
- The Unfulfilled Promises of Psychotropics
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Bulimia Nervosa – A Success Story
- Is Hoarding A Symptom Or A Disorder? – It’s Place in the DSM-V
- Smell Your Age
- Gender Competency Principles in Clinical Practice
- Spirituality Improves Mental Health
Comments
- Zander: Sorry I have few typos in the
- Zander: This article is completely fal
- baba yaga: It is good to hear from someon
- pankaj: I am agree with you. say about
- Debkslisw: When people ask “what is healt
- naughty: I quit and got lazier and Gain
- naughty: I smoke from my early teens ti
- Kevin Kind: Our understanding about murder
- L: Can you gather data prior to t
- Paul: I think preventing schizaphren
- Paul: Wow the idea that morality cou
- Paul: I have tried reading about exi
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121021173607im_/http://dna.brainblogger.com/wp-content/themes/bb2/images/spacer.gif)
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121021173607im_/http://dna.brainblogger.com/wp-content/themes/bb2/images/spacer.gif)
A new treatment, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) utilizes a tiny, imperceptible amount of electricity from a portable stimulator to reduce depression by 50% for patients who do not respond to antidepressants. Improvement of cognitive function occurs with the initial treatment and depression lessens within a week. Antidepressants have significant side effects including weight gain and decreased libido and they provide no relief for 40% of depressed patients. tDCS uses a tiny, imperceptible amount of electricity to gently activate the under-functioning area of the brain which results in depression. tDCS is safe, easy to do, without any side effects and can be done by the patient at home. Home use minimizes cost and maximizes convenience. tDCS also reduces chronic pain including migraine, fibromyalgia and complex regional pain. Targeting another area of the brain, DARPA funded studies demonstrate a 100% improvement in learning for pilots training on flight simulators after tDCS. tDCS is effective, safe, easy to do, with no side effects and the life time cost is less than the cost of an antidepressant for a year
I’m a former Air Force medic during the Vietnam Conflict. In my experience, we were more adept at medical/physical restoration than at psychosocial traumas. And I find group psychotherapy to be a very important intervention! And we really should not send anyone to war unless all of us serve in some capacity!
Rich