Returning Troops Will Need Mental Health Support
source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL115668520071014
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- abbym0308
- added this
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- News and Politics
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- News and Politics, Iraq, Mental Health, World Politics, 1 more
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Meditator
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As a mental health professional, I and other colleagues duly noted three years ago the great likelihood of an increase in the level of distress and/or mental health disorders in returning veterans. I have appeared a couple of times on a cable TV show to discuss PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and the unpreparedness of our mental health community to deal with this issue.
This "war" is different from others in that we have a very large number of reservists serving, as opposed to prior engagements in which the majority of enlistees (or draftees) were not reservists. Most reservists signed up to be weekend warriors helping with natural disasters and so on and not to enter into open conflict with extended tours of duty.
Another difference is the number of women and couples being deployed, which has added additional stressors on these military personnel and their families.
In Minnesota, we have begun to set the standard by which returning veterans are afforded the opportunity to reintegrate into civilian life. There is a protocol to help identify those who are struggling and to offer mental health assistance to the individual soldier and their families at many different junctures, not just upon immediate arrival at home.
The federal government has also given the green light to include those practitioners who are marriage and family therapists to be eligible for insurance reimbursement, so as to increase the number of mental health professionals available for therapy.
This issue, unfortunately, in some form or other, will have life-long effects on the individual soldier, their immediate families and society as a whole. Let's hope it is to learn to settle conflict without killing one another.
- 5 years ago
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Meditator
