DCoE Blog

• Helping Service Members with Psychological Health Issues

  Posted by Captain Edward Simmer on May 29, 2009

  May is Mental Health Month, and DCoE is working on a number of psychological health projects and initiatives that will help our service members and their families. Over the next year, I hope to see us make significant improvements in three areas. Reducing stigma: The Real Warriors Campaign is going to be a very important piece in helping to reduce stigma for service members seeking psychological help. We believe that all of the components of the campaign, such as educational materials and senior military leadership sharing some of their struggles, are going to be helpful. It is OK to have issues; the question for each service member is how are you going to address those issues? To learn more about the campaign, visit www.realwarriors.net. Better treatments: I hope that in a year from now we will have identified better treatments for psychological health issues. One promising area we are ...

  Categories: Treatment, Psychological Health   |   Comments (0)

• Deployed Service Members Face Increased Risk of Alcohol Misuse

  Posted by Lieutenant Colonel Jay M. Stone on May 22, 2009

  May is Mental Health Month, offering an opportunity to discuss the critical issue of alcohol misuse among service members who deploy. Alcohol misuse can affect a person and family’s psychological well being. Published studies of military personnel deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan show a direct link between stress related to combat and mental health challenges. For example, The Millennium Cohort Study found new onset self-reported post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in 7.6 percent of cohort members who deployed and reported some level of exposure to combat (Smith et al., 2008). Data from civilian studies also indicate that PTSD, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and substance use disorders often occur simultaneously. Overall, individuals with PTSD face a four-fold increased risk for alcohol/drug abuse or dependence, according to a study published in 1998 by Chilcoat and Breslau. In a systematic review of prevalence and outcome research by Parry-Jones et al. (2006) post-TBI alcohol ...

  Categories: Substance Misuse Treatment, Psychological Health, Deployments   |   Comments (0)

• Join Us in the Real Warriors Campaign

  Posted by Brigadier General Loree K. Sutton on May 21, 2009

  Will you join us in an important battle to support Warriors and their Families? We need you—your ideas, your enthusiasm, and your influence—to help Warriors get the treatment they need for psychological health and traumatic brain injury concerns. It’s called the Real Warriors Campaign, our leading effort to eliminate the stigma that keeps Warriors from seeking the help they need and deserve. I invite you to come see what we’re doing—and what you can do—at www.realwarriors.net. Log on and you’ll find the heart of the Real Warriors Campaign: first-hand stories told by Warriors and Veterans who sought care for their own psychological health concerns and traumatic brain injuries. I am convinced that when Warriors see peers just like themselves facing these challenges, they will be encouraged to seek support in their own struggles. There’s a powerful lesson witnessing the courage and strength of those seeking support: “If they can reach ...

  Categories: Real Warriors Campaign/Stigma   |   Comments (0)

• Maintaining Psychological Health

  Posted by Captain Edward Simmer on May 15, 2009

  Psychological health encompasses all aspects of a person: physical, mental, spiritual, and social. This includes both positive and negative behaviors, attributes and symptoms, including resilience and heartiness. One of goals of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury is to help service members and families build resilience, which is the development of positive attitudes, behaviors and habits that prepare individuals and families to successfully adapt when faced with overwhelming stress and extreme adversity. Resilience-based training contributes to overall mission readiness of the Armed Forces. Eating well, getting enough rest and having meaningful relationships and friendships are all helpful in building resilience. Another part of helping military members become more resilient is ensuring that they receive realistic training and have an understanding of the types of situations and events that they will encounter in war. Talking to service members about probable experiences and the normal psychological ...

  Categories: Resilience   |   Comments (0)