• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Army treating more PTSD

By Jerry Harben
March 1, 2006

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Army News Service, March 1, 2006) -- “We are seeing increased rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety and depression, which doesn’t surprise us as we now have been at war essentially since 9/11/2001,” said Col. Elspeth C. Ritchie, psychiatry consultant to the Army surgeon general.

“Leadership cares a lot about this,” Ritchie said. “There has been a great deal of education for noncommissioned officers and leaders, and more is being fielded.”

An extensive array of mental-health services is available, Ritchie said.

200 experts deployed

In Southwest Asia, more than 200 behavioral-health providers are deployed. Division staffs and combat support hospitals have mental-health specialists. Combat Stress Control Companies take mental-health support to the units, including critical event debriefings when a unit suffers a casualty.

In garrison, psychiatrists and psychologists are available at hospitals and clinics, and through the TRICARE program.

Programs include chaplains, support groups

Other behavioral health programs, such as the chaplains’ “Strong and Ready Families,” suicide prevention programs, substance abuse prevention programs and family support groups, also make valuable contributions to the overall mental health of the Army, officials said.

“Leadership, community prevention programs, and dedicated helping professionals in garrison and in operational theaters form the core of mental-health support for our service members and their families,” Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, told the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on military personnel last summer.

“This mental-health support is a continuum from community-based services, including buddy care, non-medical support resources and chaplains,” Winkenwerder said, “to command-level involvement, monitoring morale, improving living conditions and supporting quality of life initiatives; to the full spectrum of clinical care and patient movement of the Military Health System for those with a need for more intensive support.”

‘Resetting Force’ has three phases

The Army surgeon general promotes a “Resetting the Force” concept built in three phases: Decompression, Reintegration and Readiness Reset.

“Resetting the Force comes from a realization that everybody needs a chance to retool and reconfigure after deployment. Programs are in place to help,” Ritchie said.

As part of the reintegration process, redeploying Soldiers are briefed on what stressors to expect on homecoming, the common symptoms of post-deployment hyper-arousal and friction, ways to ameliorate these symptoms, how to recognize when further professional help is needed and how to access treatment services.

Soldiers returning home complete the Post Deployment Health Assessment, which screens for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other deployment-related stresses, concerns about family issues and concerns about drug and alcohol abuse. A primary-care provider then may refer Soldiers to on-site counselors or mental-health departments of military treatment facilities if needed.

Soldiers now complete a Post Deployment Health Reassessment between three and six months after redeployment, to detect conditions that are not immediately apparent.

Military One-Source provides convenient assistance, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by telephone (1-800-464-8107), Internet (www.militaryonesource.com) or email. It offers information and education services, referrals and confidential face-to-face counseling.

See related article Study shows troops back from Iraq get help for stress.

(Edtitor’s note: Jerry Harben writes for the U.S. Army Medical Command.)