DCoE Blog

• Tuesday, July 28, 2009 - July’s Global Video Teleconference (VTC): Reintegration Experiences

  Posted by Dr. Lolita O'Donnell , DCoE deputy director for Outreach, Strategic Communications on July 28, 2009

    Every month DCoE holds a Global VTC focused on a topic relevant to the military community. This outreach initiative provides a forum for discussion of critical issues relevant to psychological health and traumatic brain injury and also ensures global access to authoritative and credible subject resources.   This month’s Global VTC titled, “Reintegration Experiences: The View from the States,” will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, July 29 from 1300-1500.   The purpose of this VTC is to discuss promising state-level reintegration programs that target Reserve and National Guard populations. Attention will be paid to the Alabama Reintegration Action Plan as well as programs from both Kansas and Massachusetts. Military and civilian leaders, healthcare providers and subject matter experts should find the VTC useful.   Dial-in number: 888-889-1822, pass code: 1283540#   For more information and a complete agenda, please click here. DCoE will hold the next Global ...

  Read More »

  Categories: Reintegration   |   Comments (0)

• Thursday, July 16, 2009 - Notable Historical Figures May Have Experienced PTSD

  Posted by Dr. Sonja V. Batten , Deputy Director on July 16, 2009

    In my previous post, I discussed my observations on public attitudes over the last 20 years toward psychological health issues in general and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) specifically. In my experience, there has been a significant increase in how frequently these issues are publicly discussed, even though the same issues have probably existed for thousands of years. In an article I published with Dr. Philip A. Mackowiak, titled “Post-Traumatic Stress Reactions before the Advent of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Potential Effects on the Lives and Legacies of Alexander the Great, Captain James Cook, Emily Dickinson, and Florence Nightingale,” we share that some of society’s most celebrated historical figures may have experienced PTSD. Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE): At the age of 22, Alexander crossed the Hellespont with an army of just over 30,000 men to conquer the “known world.” After 10 years of bloody battle, enduring near-fatal wounds and ...

  Read More »

  Categories: Psychological Health   |   Comments (0)

• Thursday, July 02, 2009 - Psychological Health for Military Women

  Posted by Dr. Lolita O'Donnell , DCoE deputy director for Outreach, Strategic Communications on July 2, 2009

    The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2008 (HR 4986, Section 716) specifically "requires the Secretary of Defense to conduct a comprehensive review of the 1) need for gender and ethnic group-specific mental health treatment and services for members of the Armed Forces; 2) the efficacy and adequacy of existing gender-and ethnic group-specific mental health treatment programs and services for members of the Armed Forces." According to recent statistics, in 2008, women made up 11 percent of OEF/OIF veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.   Although current law excludes active duty women from officially participating in certain job categories such as ground combat operations (e.g., infantry, armor, artillery units) and submarines, female military members are an integral part of the large support force for these and other operations. The lack of frontlines and the insurgent nature of the current conflicts have made avoidance of many combat ...

  Read More »

  Categories: Women   |   Comments (0)