DCoE Blog

• Chaplain Reflects on Service, Impact of War on Psychological Health

  Posted by Carol Roos, DCoE Public Affairs on July 30, 2015

  
  Photo by Spc. 2nd Class Jorge Saucedo

  As the Army Chaplain Corps celebrated its 240th anniversary yesterday, retired Army Chaplain David Smith reflected on how his personal experience of war and resiliency – particularly his own recovery from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) brought on during his time in Iraq – affected his work.

  As members of the clergy, chaplains possess some advantages that other leaders don’t. They are able to listen and counsel service members without prejudice. They can offer spiritual guidance to all faiths no matter the denomination. Service members know that anything they share with a chaplain is confidential.

  Smith was deployed nine times during his 30 years in the Army. Nothing brought the war closer than his deployment to Al Anbar Province with the 82nd Airborne Division from August 2003 to April 2004.

  Categories: PTSD, Chaplains, Psychological Health   |   Comments (5)

• Clarify ‘One Drink’ to Best Assess Alcohol Misuse, Treat Patients

  Posted by Myron J. Goodman, DCoE Public Affairs on July 28, 2015

  
  Source: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

  Everyone likes to go out, have a good time and unwind from busy schedules. But using alcohol to help relax can be problematic.

  Cmdr. David S. Barry, a psychologist with Deployment Health Clinical Center, explained that providers should ensure patients understand exactly what “one drink” means during a July 23 webinar hosted by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

  Categories: DCoE Webinar Rewind, DCoE Products, DCoE, Substance Misuse Treatment   |   Comments (0)

• Social Support Is Vital to Women at War

  Posted by Carol Roos, DCoE Public Affairs on July 27, 2015

  
  U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Marleah Robertson

  Men and women experience war differently, new research shows. For women in the military social support appears even more vital for maintaining good psychological health, compared to their male peers. Yet social support may be more difficult to find with 85 percent of the active-duty force composed of male service members. According to some female service members, sometimes women in the military find themselves ostracized by their units and social support withheld by the male service members who surround them.

  “Ostracism can produce long-term psychological and physical consequences,” said Dr. Kate McGraw, a 16-year Air Force veteran and former missile operations officer who is currently the associate director for psychological health clinical care at Deployment Health Clinical Center (DHCC).

  Categories: Women, readiness, Psychological Health   |   Comments (4)

• DCoE Says Farewell, Welcomes Director

  Posted by Navy Capts. Richard Stoltz and Mike Colston on July 21, 2015

  
  Navy Capt. Mike Colston

  
  Navy Capt. Richard Stoltz

  Capt. Richard Stoltz steps down today after more than two years as director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE). He is succeeded by Capt. Mike Colston. As we say goodbye to one DCoE Director and welcome another, we asked their thoughts on the transition.

  From Stoltz:
  We have made tremendous progress since my start here in May of 2013. I am proud to have served as the director for DCoE and to have worked side-by-side with so many dedicated professionals to improve the lives of our nation’s service members, veterans and families by advancing excellence in psychological health and traumatic brain injury (TBI) prevention and care.

  Categories: Research, DCoE, Leadership   |   Comments (0)

• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Finds a Place in the Military

  Posted by DCoE Public Affairs on July 15, 2015

  
  Photo by Spc. Charles Probst, Operations Group, National Training Center

  As described in previous blog posts, mindfulness meditation has swiftly gained popularity as a self-care strategy for improving psychological health. It’s not only a hot media topic, but also an exploding area of new research. This Army post describes a new study about a mindfulness meditation group whose members met in a three-dimensional virtual world, Second Life.

  Mindfulness-based meditation and the military are generally two things that one would not associate with one another.

  But on Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Dr. Valerie Rice, chief of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory's Human Research and Engineering Directorate Army Medical Department Field Element in San Antonio, has participated in the Army Study Program since 2012. She has led a study entitled “Evaluating Next Generation Resiliency Training Using the Virtual World of Second Life” for the last four years.

  Categories: Mindfulness, Research, Psychological Health   |   Comments (2)

• Prolonged Exposure: PTSD Therapy That Works

  Posted by DCoE Public Affairs on July 13, 2015

  This infographic highlights the main components of prolonged exposure therapy: education, talking through trauma, real-world practice and breathing.

  

  Posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, can occur after someone experiences or sees a traumatic event. This distress may be highest when dealing with memories, thoughts, feelings and situations that are related to the trauma.

  Categories: Traumatic Brain Injury, PTSD, Features, Psychological Health   |   Comments (5)