DoDLive | Tag Archive | Psychological Health

Medical Monday: Psychological Health and Support

Filed under DoD News, Mental Health Month by glenn.selby on June 6, 2011 at 9:00 am {no comments}

Col. Chris Robinson, Deputy Director for Psychological Health, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury

By Col. Chris Robinson
Deputy Director for Psychological Health, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury

As both a clinical health psychologist and as an Airman who recently returned from deployment to Afghanistan, I know firsthand the importance of reaching out for support for psychological health. For many service members, returning from deployment and reintegrating back home can present some challenges.

It’s common for service members to experience an adjustment period after deployment, but there are resources available to help build resilience, facilitate recovery and support reintegration. The Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) offers several programs to assist service members, veterans and military families with post-deployment concerns and encourage help-seeking behavior.

The Real Warriors Campaign promotes help-seeking behaviors among service members and veterans with invisible wounds. Together with military leaders and the services at large, the campaign is spreading the message that reaching out is a sign of strength. Warriors are not alone in coping with psychological health concerns – there is a vast network of support and resources throughout each of the services, Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, and civilian communities. The Real Warriors Campaign website, realwarriors.net, has more than 80 practical articles to support members of the military community throughout deployment and reintegration.

Service members and families can stay connected to others within the military community by following the campaign’s social media channels, including Facebook and Twitter; by engaging on the campaign’s message boards; or by sharing messages of support using the campaigns ecards and materials.

Another DCoE resource to assist with reintegration needs is Afterdeployment.org, an online behavioral health resource supporting service members, their families, and veterans with common post-deployment challenges. The site offers a wide spectrum of core features, including educational libraries spanning 18 topics, 29 self-assessments that provide users with immediate feedback, ‘hands-on’ guidance with various self-management strategies, nearly 300 video-based interviews with service members and families, podcasts for ‘on-the-go’ access, community forums, expert blogs, quick links to hotlines and partner sites, topical RSS feeds, and a provider portal supporting the clinical community. Next-generation development will add three new modules (pain, suicide, finances), bring on a user-centered dashboard, and expand the site’s social networking opportunities.

Additional resources like the DCoE Outreach Center are available 24/7 by phone at 1-866-966-1020, email at resources@dcoeoutreach.org and live chat. Anyone can reach out to the DCoE Outreach Center to speak confidentially with health care professionals about psychological health or TBI concerns. DCoE also offers information and resources related to psychological health and traumatic brain injury on the DCoE Blog, Facebook and Twitter.

Family Focus Friday: Developing Career Opportunities for Military Spouses

Filed under DoD News by glenn.selby on April 22, 2011 at 6:36 am {2 comments}

Robert L. Gordon, III Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Military Community and Family Policy)

Robert L. Gordon III, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Military Community and Family Policy)

These are challenging times for our military community, ranging from natural disasters to the daily realities of life. As such, these are times when the well-being of our military families is more important than ever.

We are strengthening military families not only to navigate the unique aspects of military life but also to thrive in the wake of life’s uncertainties. One of our commitments to enhance career opportunities for military spouses is based on the Presidential Study Directive, “Strengthening Our Military Families: Meeting America’s Commitment.”

We are excited to tell you that we are expanding a successful career development program for Army spouses so that it will be available to all military spouses. In this program, we are partnering with government agencies, businesses and organizations across America to provide greater opportunities for our spouse community.

We are engaging our nation’s employment leaders with this message:

Military spouses are your best choice for your next hire
They are skilled and diverse
They are educated and motivated
They are team oriented and have a strong work ethic

Business and organizational leaders need to know what you want. What would you tell us as we reach out to these leaders? We want to find the right fit for your career goals with organizations that support those career paths. So let us know! With your input, we can improve opportunities for you to choose and pursue a career that is personally and professionally rewarding.

I encourage you to read “Strengthening Our Military Families: Meeting America’s Commitment.” The four focus areas to enhance support to our military families are:

Psychological health and well-being of military families
Excellence in education and development for military children
Career and educational opportunities for military spouses
Availability and quality of child care for the Armed Forces

This week’s post is the first in a series of discussions on how we are enhancing support in these areas. I want you to know what we’re working on and get your thoughts on how we can better serve you. As we work on career programs and other areas to support the needs of military families, we hope you’ll join our discussion.

We are working hard to build a foundation upon which military families can meet the challenges of these uncertain times, be fulfilled, and look to the future with optimism and hope. We look forward to hearing from you! Thank you.

Medical Monday: “Hot Topics” in the Treatment of TBI

Filed under DoD News by glenn.selby on March 7, 2011 at 10:18 am {2 comments}

Ms. Katherine M. Helmick, MS, RN, CNRN, CRNP Deputy Director - Traumatic Brain Injury Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE)

By Kathy Helmick
Deputy director for TBI at the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE)

Brain Injury Awareness Month gives us an opportunity to raise awareness and support for service members, veterans and families whose lives are affected by traumatic brain injury (TBI). As DCoE’s deputy director for TBI, I work with many others including the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center to improve TBI care delivered to service members in deployed and non-deployed environments. The Defense Department made significant advancements in TBI management during the past several years and we’re continuing to learn as we treat. Navigating the clinical challenges that providers face in the field is critical to ensure we’re employing state-of-the-art care for all levels of TBI severity, from concussion to severe and penetrating brain injuries.

The department is aggressively working to improve the diagnosis and treatment of TBI in-theater. By issuing the Directive Type Memorandum (DTM) “Policy Guidance for Management of Concussion/Mild TBI in the Deployed Setting,” commanders or their representatives are required to assess all service members involved in potentially concussive events, to include those without apparent injuries, using the Injury/Evaluation/Distance from Blast (I.E.D.) checklist. Highlights from the directive include:

Mandatory event-driven protocols for exposure to potentially concussive events
Required medical evaluation and rest
All sports and activities with risk of concussion are prohibited until medically cleared
Service members diagnosed with mild TBI will receive a standardized educational sheet
New protocols for anyone who sustains three or more mild TBIs within a 12-month period

We’ve learned that early diagnosis and treatment help to maximize the possibility that service members will fully recover from a TBI and return to duty. This applies to injuries sustained during deployment and at home station.

Following a traumatic brain injury, an individual may experience persistent symptoms and functional limitations, so we’re studying the cognitive rehabilitation effects for mild TBI. Cognitive rehabilitation therapy is now performed at 13 military treatment facilities. Cognitive domains, the areas involving conscious intellectual activity, affected after a TBI include:

Attention issues
Memory problems
Social and emotional functioning
Executive functioning including planning and judgment

One of the challenges with treating patients with mild TBI is the existence of co-occurring conditions. DCoE recently released the “Co-occurring Conditions Toolkit: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Psychological Health,” a comprehensive clinical guidance tool to assist primary care providers with assessing and managing patients with co-occurring traumatic brain injury and psychological health conditions. The Co-occurring Conditions Toolkit addresses the following:

Concussion
Post-traumatic stress
Depression
Chronic pain
Headache
Substance use disorder

The department is committed to fast-tracking, promising TBI research to improve the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury to benefit our service members, veterans and their families. I invite you to visit DCoE’s Brain Injury Awareness Month page for brain injury resources for warriors, families and health professionals. We’re making great strides in the field of TBI that benefit more than just the Defense Department—they help our civilian and global partners too.

We’d like to hear from you, so join conversations taking place throughout the month on DCoE’s blog, Facebook and Twitter.

Medical Monday: Support for Moving Health Care Systems

Filed under DoD News by tiffaniwalker on February 14, 2011 at 11:35 am {no comments}

By Dr. Lolita O’Donnell, DCoE Clearinghouse, Outreach and Advocacy directorate acting director

Transitions are a part of typical military service. Active-duty service members often relocate to new installations, National Guard and Reserve members transition between military and civilian lives, and, service members separate from the military altogether. Because transitions are significant events that impact how and where a service member or veteran lives and works, the Department of Defense (DoD) created inTransition, a program that provides coaching support to help maintain behavioral health care continuity for service members as they move between any health care system or provider.

“For some individuals, behavioral health care may be a long process, following them from their military service through transition to the Department of Veterans Affairs system and, for some, a transition to civilian life,” says Capt. Paul S. Hammer, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury director. “Psychological health and well-being are key components of a healthy, fit force.”

(more…)

Stressed Out?

Filed under DoD News by glenn.selby on February 9, 2011 at 8:06 am {no comments}

YouTube DoDLive

By Petty Officer Second Class William Selby

Throughout Defense Media Activity today we’ll be talking about stress. More importantly, how to recognize it, how to deal with it and how to decrease the stigma of seeking help. Click here to meet Sheri Hall, an Army spouse who is helping other military families understand how to deal with combat stress in a family member and take care of themselves as well. Hall’s effort is part of a program through the Defense Health Clinical Center called the Significant Others Support Group – check it out here. Help comes in all shapes and sizes – learn about one furry resource for PTSD by clicking here. You can find out how Sailors deal with stress here. One approach the National Guard has taken is to assign leaders in psychological health to each state and territory. Find out what they are up to by clicking here.

Air Force Lt. Col. Christopher Robinson, Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury senior executive director for psychological health, was interviewed today on “Around the Services” as he discussed some of the ways service members can deal with their stress. You can view today’s episode of “Around the Services” here.

It’s extremely important that we as service members not only know how to recognize if we are having stress related problems, but that we also know how to combat it by using the resources that the military has provided us. More importantly, we need to encourage our warriors to talk about their stress related problems in order to destroy the negative stigma related to combat stress.

That’s what the DCoE offers. Ways to recognize stress, combat stress and how to get rid of the negative stigma of seeking help for combat related stress.

So spread the word and help those in need by watching or streaming the interview at www.PentagonChannel.mil. Also, check out hash tag #NoStressZone on Twitter throughout the day. We will be tweeting about how to combat stress and adding additional new content to this blog post throughout the day.