DCoE Blog

• Service Members, Former NFL Players Share Common Ground on Game Day

  Posted by DCoE Public Affairs on January 29, 2013

  

  Former wide receiver Hank Baskett holds up a sign of thanks for service members. (Photo courtesy of Real Warriors Campaign)

  Sometimes it’s easier to talk about challenging experiences with someone who has been down a similar path. That’s the premise behind a program that puts service members together with former NFL players to watch football games, socialize and discuss common reintegration challenges, and through those exchanges, help break down barriers to seeking help for psychological health concerns or traumatic brain injuries. 

  This is the third year Real Warriors Campaign, sponsored by Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, partnered with National Football League Players Association to host “Game Day” events at military installations. In December 2012 and January 2013, nearly 300 service members and families heard former NFL players share their difficulties with transitioning from the NFL experience. By talking candidly about their struggles and getting help, these former professional athletes hoped service members and families coping with psychological health issues and transitioning from the military would embrace their messages, such as:

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  Categories: Real Warriors Campaign/Stigma , Collaborations , Personal Stories , Community Support , Families , DCoE , Psychological Health   |   Comments (2)

• Top 5 Reasons to Seek VA Care

  Posted by Dr. Emily Gilmore, Department of Veterans Affairs health care provider on November 15, 2012

  

  Carol Rogers, center, a volunteer at Roudebush Veterans Affairs Hospital in Indianapolis, ushers Soldiers of the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team through a post mobilization health reassessment. Rogers along with hundreds of other staff hosted the brigade as a part of an ongoing initiative to address health concerns of returning veterans. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Lesley Newport)

  Dr. Emily Gilmore is a psychology postdoctoral fellow in the Trauma Recovery Program at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Maryland Health Care System

  It has been my pleasure to serve veterans and service members as a VA provider for the past three years. As a service member, reservist, National Guard member or veteran, you may wonder, “What can the VA offer me?” Here are five reasons why you should consider seeking VA care:

  1. Exclusive dedication to providing quality services for veterans and service members. It’s all we do. VA patients are serving or have served in the military and so has many of our staff. Our health care providers are nationally recognized leaders in treating polytrauma, chronic pain, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). For example, we have dedicated centers like:

  • National Center for PTSD
  • VA Polytrauma System of Care

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  Categories: Women , Collaborations , Families , Veterans , Resources , Treatment   |   Comments (6)

• After Service, Find afterdeployment.org

  Posted by Jayne Davis , DCoE Strategic Communications on October 15, 2012

  

  Photo courtesy of U.S. Army

  Getting started is often the most difficult step in any process. If you’re a service member struggling with depression, sleep difficulties, posttraumatic stress, traumatic brain injury or any number of challenges to living a healthy, balanced life post-deployment, taking that first step toward improvement can be daunting. As simple as it seems, even clicking on a website that offers help for your concerns requires a leap of faith in yourself and the website.

  That’s well understood by the developers of afterdeployment.org, an interactive wellness resource. Created specifically for service members, their families, veterans and health care providers, it takes into consideration the unique combination of issues service members could encounter post-deployment and guides their self-discovery through an engaging, media-rich experience.

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  Categories: Traumatic Brain Injury , Collaborations , Resilience , Stress , PTSD , Families , Veterans , Resources , Substance Misuse Treatment , Treatment , Depression , Psychological Health , Deployments   |   Comments (0)

• inTransition: Reaching All Levels of Behavioral Health Care Providers

  Posted by George Lamb on October 9, 2012

  

  Photo courtesy of Army Sgt. Quentin Johnson

  George Lamb is a Marine veteran and began his social work career with the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northport, NY, where he assisted with care coordination of returning combat veterans. At DCoE, he supervises and manages the division’s dissemination activities and coordinates outreach.

  During our outreach efforts for the inTransition program, a coaching initiative for service members transitioning between behavioral health care providers, we are often asked how the program can be incorporated into treatment plans for wounded warriors. This question took on additional resonance when asked by service leads at the Joint Task Force National Capital Region Medical Command (JTF CapMed) Wounded Warrior Meeting recently held at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC). JTF CapMed has regional authority over effective and efficient delivery of military health care.

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  Categories: Collaborations , Reintegration , Resources , Treatment , Psychological Health , Deployments   |   Comments (5)

• ‘Military Medicine’ Supplement Focuses on Psychological Health, TBI

  Posted by Dino Teppara on September 19, 2012

  

  DCoE develops special medical journal supplement to highlight advances in psychological health and TBI. (DCoE photo)

  What’s the impact of multiple deployments and repeated traumatic stressors on service members? Why are a significant number of military personnel experiencing psychological injuries following their deployments? What treatment options are available? What’s being done to help advance the field of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and psychological health?

  If these questions are on your mind, consider reading the special edition of “Military Medicine.” Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) subject matter experts and others share updated research to better understand current psychological health and TBI conditions affecting the health, occupational and personal functioning of service members and veterans. Published by The Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS), the journal identifies effective screening tools, diagnostic technologies and treatments for major areas of concern like posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, substance use disorder and TBI.

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  Categories: Traumatic Brain Injury , Research , Collaborations , Stress , PTSD , Veterans , DCoE , Substance Misuse Treatment , Depression , Psychological Health   |   Comments (0)

• Frontline Psych with Doc Bender: Neuroendocrine Dysfunction May be Tough to Say, Diagnose

  Posted by Dr. James Bender , DCoE psychologist on August 23, 2012

  	U.S. Army photo by Jasmine Chopra-Degadillo

  Dr. James Bender is a former Army psychologist who deployed to Iraq as the brigade psychologist for the 1st Cavalry Division 4th Brigade Combat Team out of Fort Hood, Texas. During his deployment, he traveled through Southern Iraq, from Basra to Baghdad. He writes a monthly post for the DCoE Blog on psychological health concerns related to deployment and being in the military.

  I spent a few days this month in Orlando, Fla., attending the 127th annual American Psychological Association (APA) Convention, which is the largest gathering of psychologists and psychology students in the world. The convention allows health care providers from all areas of specialization in psychology and from research, practice, education and policy to get together for four days to learn about the latest advances in psychology. For the third year, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) subject matter experts presented at this convention to increase psychologists’ knowledge of the unique needs of the military population, including treatment options for psychological health conditions and traumatic brain injury (TBI).

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  Categories: Traumatic Brain Injury , Collaborations , Veterans , DCoE , Resources , Treatment , Training , Psychological Health   |   Comments (4)