The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been increasing in the United States. CAM has been used to treat symptoms and illnesses associated with stress. These include depression, anxiety, back and neck pain, and gastrointenstinal disorders. While there has been an increase in use and study of CAM in the civilian population, not much is known about the use of CAM in the Veteran population.
Identifying an efficacious and accessible treatment strategy would be of significant benefit to Veterans/military personnel, their family members and the military/VA health care systems.
Acupressure, a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modality, potentially fulfills this need. Acupressure (Burmeister, 1997) is nonpharmacological. Initially it can be administered by a skilled clinician. Follow-up treatment can be self-administered; thereby facilitating long-term maintenance and portability.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential utility of neuropsychological testing as a key component of suicide risk assessment in Veterans with HIV/AIDS.
Medication overdoses account for substantial numbers of suicide-related behaviors. Non-adherence is a significant issue for those with psychiatric illness.
This study is designed to test the psychometric properties of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire (INQ-12) and the Acquired Capability for Suicide Scale (ACSS) in a sample of military veterans, something which has not been done. These measures were developed to assess the constructs of Joiner’s interpersonal psychological theory of suicide. Secondary goals of the study are to determine if values mediate the relationship between reasons for living and suicide risk, and whether participants’ suicidal wish can be categorized as either escaping their problems or influencing other people.
This study will use VHA data toward the ultimate goal of establishing a mechanism by which VA clinicians could access data on Veterans regarding suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors that occurred when they were on active duty, as documented in the Department of Defense Suicide Event Report (DoDSER).
The purpose of this project is to explore the degree to which performance consistency on neuropsychological measures varies in a sample of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)/Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Veterans with a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) with persistent self-reported symptoms.
Research Team: Douglas Kondo MD, Kristen Fiedler BS, Elliott Bueler
Based on the results of prior clinical trials, the research team is conducting a study to learn if the nutritional supplement CREATINE is an effective adjunctive (i.e. add-on) treatment for SSRI-resistant Major Depression.
Purpose: To design a novel substance abuse intervention and related treatment manual for individuals who served in the military and have co-occurring mild TBI and substance use disorders.
The purpose of this retrospective chart review study is to examine differences in post-concussive (PC) symptom endorsement among four groups of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Veterans: those with a history of target, service-related, mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and co-occurring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Group 1); those with a history of target, service-related, mTBI only (Group 2); those with PTSD only (Group 3); and those with no history of target, service-related, mTBI or PTSD (Group 4).
This project will evaluate the preliminary feasibility of novel group-based intervention for individuals with co-occurring mild TBI and SUDs. Results from this study will inform further revision of the intervention manual and readiness for future efficacy and effectiveness trials.
Veterans who have served in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) have demonstrated increased rates of mental health and physical health conditions including post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Such conditions have impacted the Veteran and their significant others. For example, research has found that PTSD symptoms are associated with decreased relationship satisfaction in the Veteran population.
Losing a close friend or family member to death can be an incredibly painful and stressful occurrence. Some bereaved persons may experience additional symptoms associated with a severe and unending type of grief now referred to as prolonged grief (PG). The connection between PG and suicide among Veterans has not been studied, even though Veterans already are at a higher risk for suicide than are other groups.
Through this research we hope to understand which values (e.g. power, achievement, security) and value dimensions (e.g., importance, success) have the strongest impact on suicidality in this population.
This project will determine whether methods drawn from basic science can robustly detect the effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and/or post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on executive functioning. Although TBI often occurs in the context of a traumatic event, very little research has attempted to disentangle the effects of TBI from PTSD, both of which compromise executive functioning.
This study is designed to test a novel method of measuring avoidance of trauma-related material in combat Veterans with and without PTSD, and to compare this novel behavioral measure of avoidance with other traditional self report measures of avoidance.
Project Summary: The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of the HOME (Home-Based Mental Health Evaluation) intervention with care as usual for Veterans who have transitioned from inpatient to outpatient care. The study consists of four assessments that will gather information on post-discharge treatment engagement, mood related symptoms, and suicidal ideation. See a description of the HOME clinical project.
This purpose of this study, sponsored by The Office of the Surgeon General, is to describe the magnitude of change between baseline and follow-up outcomes for a battery of neuropsychological tests within groups of participants with mild traumatic brain injury after receiving hyperbaric oxygen.
Increasing Statewide Capacity to Provide Mental Health Care to Eligible Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Veterans with TBI and Co-Occurring Behavioral Health Issues
The purpose of this study is to explore and potentially increase the capacity of the non-VA community mental health system within the state of Colorado to provide a comprehensive and coordinated service delivery system for Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) Veterans and their families. The specific population of interest is OEF/OIF Veterans with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and co-occurring behavioral health issues.
The proposed investigation is a pilot study intended to establish the safety and tolerability of lithium augmentation of standard psychopharmacological treatment of PTSD for combat veterans seeking treatment at the Denver VA Medical Center.
Research Team: Peter M. Gutierrez PhD, Thomas Joiner PhD, Greg Riccardi PhD, Jon Maner, PhD, Kelly Moroney MA, Karen Gronau, Megan Dwyer, Jetta Hanson MA
Consortium seeks to develop more effective prevention interventions, risk assessment methods, and treatments to decrease suicide in the military.
Traumatic brain injury is an important medical problem for Veterans. Individuals with traumatic brain injuries are at increased risk for various psychiatric problems, including those associated with suicide. This study seeks to better understand the relationship between these factors.
The purpose of this study is to gather information from VISN 19 ECHCS Denver VA professionals regarding their perspectives of necessary resources to provide mental health service to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)/ Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) Veterans.
The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of the SAFE VET (Suicide Assessment and Follow-up Engagement: Veteran Emergency Treatment) intervention versus enhanced usual care on Veterans’ suicide attempts, suicide ideation, outpatient mental health or substance abuse treatment, and suicide-related coping. SAFE VET uses a standardized intervention that is specifically adapted for use in the Emergency Department to mitigate suicide risk.
While there is a dearth of evidence-based treatment for co-occurring PTSD and mTBI, it has been suggested that best practices entail treating presenting symptoms (hyperarousal, hypoarousal, emotional reactivity, irritability, depression, anxiety, concentration problems). Yoga may be particularly well-suited to treating returning servicemen as data suggests that core symptoms that develop with a history of trauma exposure, are physiologically based, somatically experienced and often not amenable to change through talking alone. Research suggests that that moment-to-moment awareness of present experience may decrease emotional reactivity and anxiety, and increase the capacity for self-regulation. Mindfulness skills have also been associated with: building resilience in the midst of stress; allowing one to better cope with physical discomfort; decreasing anxiety and depression; decreasing reactivity. An 8-week, 16-session, hatha yoga intervention will be conducted with Veterans to assess the acceptability and feasibility of an intervention in this population. Veterans will be screened and assessed for mental and physical health prior to enrolling in the intervention. Weekly sessions, out of session practice, and weekly assessments will track possible changes in the Veterans quality of life, mental and physical health.
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of PTSD on perceptions and beliefs about injury in Veterans with a history of combat mTBI or non-TBI injury.
The National Center on Homelessness among Veterans was established, in part, to assist the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in programming efforts to provide care for Veterans who are homeless or at-risk for homelessness. An immediate goal of the Center is to enlist research and clinical expertise to increase understanding regarding traumatic brain injury (TBI) among the homeless Veteran population.
This project aims to establish the prevalence rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a Veteran outpatient substance abuse program at the VISN 19 VA. Secondarily, this project aims to identify and describe psychiatric outcomes (psychiatric hospitalizations, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and completions, and mental health clinic contacts). Relationship between history of co-occurring TBI and SUDs and risk-taking behavior is also of interest.
This project aims to establish the prevalence rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in a Veteran PTSD residential treatment program (PRRTP). Secondarily, this project aims to identify and describe psychiatric outcomes (including suicide).
Military personnel are returning from current conflicts with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Brief and sensitive screening measures are needed to assess TBI in this population. he TBI-4 tool was developed to serve this purpose.
The research team hypothesizes that, similar to other populations, active acupressure treatments will help promote stress resilience, improve cognition and sleep, helping to reduce suicidal ideation and ultimately suicidal behavior. In addition to these potential functional benefits in Veterans, active acupressure is an independent, portable, safe and no-cost (once learned) intervention that is non-pharmacological and therefore has no side effects. The study aims to address a need (reducing military/Veteran suicidality) that has to date gone largely unmet, a need that is also currently a Department of Defense priority.
The purpose of this project is to gather pilot data related to risk factors associated with suicide in Veterans with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and to develop an educational and interventional tool and instructional guide that can be utilized by local and national providers to increase understanding regarding suicide risk assessment.
This proposed project will be the first to replicate a groundbreaking psychological treatment for suicide prevention among those with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury, Window to Hope (WtoH), developed by PI Simpson and colleagues in Sydney, Australia. WtoH has been successfully evaluated in a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT), in which treated Australian civilians (n=17) with severe TBI recorded significant decreases in hopelessness. The current project aims to (i) undertake the cross-cultural adaptation of the WtoH program; (ii) establish the acceptability and feasibility of WtoH within the VAMC context; and (iii) conduct a RCT within the VAMC to replicate the results from the original trial (efficacy). Deliverables are expected to include an intervention suitable for a larger trial and broader dissemination.
