DCoE Blog

• DoD's Initiatives to Assist Service Members with TBI, PTSD and Substance Use Disorders

  Posted by Lieutenant Colonel Jay M. Stone , Director, Psychological Health Clinical Standards of Care on June 12, 2009

  The Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) is one of many parts of the Department of Defense (DoD) that is undertaking initiatives to promote the prevention, early identification and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and substance use disorders.                         Prevention/Education/Awareness:   The DCoE Real Warriors Campaign is designed to combat stigma and support service members and their families in getting needed help to deal with psychological health concerns and TBI. The campaign spotlights warriors who have the courage to step forward to seek help and demonstrate resilience in overcoming their challenges.   Army Battlemind is a training series applied throughout all phases of deployment, designed to provide soldiers with the inner strength to face fear and adversity with courage. Air Force Landing Gear promotes education, symptom recognition, and help-seeking behaviors to increase the rate at which traumatic stress symptoms ...

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  Categories: Substance Misuse Treatment , Treatment   |   Comments (0)

• Public Awareness of Mental Health Issues and Traumatic Stress

  Posted by Dr. Sonja V. Batten , Deputy Director on June 3, 2009

  During Mental Health Awareness month in May, I’ve taken the opportunity to think about the changes that I’ve witnessed in the past 15-20 years with respect to public awareness of mental health issues. This has been especially notable for awareness of issues related to traumatic stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I became interested in the field of traumatic stress in the early 1990’s, when I was in college and working on a psychiatric ward as an undergraduate psychology extern. I remember being stunned to discover how many women on the psychiatric ward had a history of interpersonal violence. It was listening to their stories that first helped me to understand the profound impact that going through a traumatic event can have on people. Interpersonal violence wasn’t something that was talked about nearly as often 15 – 20 years ago. I went to graduate school to work with individuals who ...

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  Categories: Psychological Health   |   Comments (0)