Psychological Care of Veterans
natalia.na
Module1Lecture.pptxPsychological Care of Veterans: Module 1
Introduction and Overview of Psychological Care of Veterans
1
Intended Audience & Purpose
Audience: students interested in learning about psychosocial issues faced by veterans and how those issues may be addressed by mental health professionals (or others, including friends, family members)
Purpose (STUWBATs)
Describe common psychosocial issues faced by veterans.
Explain why collaboration with professionals from other healthcare disciplines (e.g., physicians, nurses, etc.) can be crucial for successful mental healthcare of veterans.
Describe different psychosocial treatment approaches utilized to address mental health issues in veterans and evaluate the efficacy/effectiveness of those treatment approaches.
Describe future directions for increasing effective mental healthcare in veterans.
Disclaimers
This seminar is not intended to provide sufficient clinical training for students to deliver specific therapies (e.g., PE, CPT, CBT, etc.) in clinical settings and/or to individuals with the intention of treating a diagnosed mental disorder (this is consistent with the APA ethics code 2.01, in the area of “Competence”).
Students interested taking what they learned in this class and applying it to treat veterans/active duty military should obtain supervised clinical training under experienced clinicians who have (years of) experience working with veterans/active duty military.
3
Introductions: What about you?
Civilians
Do you have some assumptions (i.e., biases) about how individuals with a history of military service typically look like, act, etc.?
Do you know some people who have a history of military service?
Do you already have some idea about the kinds of mental health issues veterans may experience?
Do you already have some opinions about mental health treatments, such as CBT, ACT, DBT, etc.? What about trauma-related therapies, such as PE, CPT, EMDR?
Introductions: What about you?
Students with Military Experience
How would you describe the military culture (yes, this may be specific to the branch[es] you served under)?
How was the transition from military experience to civilian living?
How open have you been with others about having a military background?
What would you say are the biggest challenges involved in adjusting to civilian living?
5
Introduction-Who is the “Veteran?” (U.S.)
What do we mean by “veteran?”
Definition of a Veteran (Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmR6N-ZB9_A
Great, but how would veterans describe themselves?
What Does Being a Veteran Mean to You? (PEO Soldier): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=floZanYgCTk
Sounds Good…but I heard Veterans can face mental health issues?
Indeed, when we take a look at veteran mental health research, not all, but a significant number of veterans can be dealing with mental health issues (VA Office of Research & Development)
Mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder)
Psychotic disorders (schizophrenia)
PTSD
Anxiety conditions
Substance use disorders
Co-occurring conditions (e.g., PTSD and substance use)
This does not mean that it is not possible that veterans may face other issues, like any mental health condition listed in the DSM-5.
I heard the “VA” is the place for Veterans to go to get their (mental health) care
Indeed, many, but not all, veterans received their mental health care at a VAMC (Eibner et al., 2016).
But, what is “the VA?”
“United States Department of Veterans Affairs”: Part of the Executive branch of our federal government.
Mission Statement: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan” by serving and honoring the men and women who are America’s veterans.
Made up of several administrations: VBA (non-medical), VHA (medical/health), NCA (in-memoriam)
Given the topic of this seminar, we focus on the VHA, which includes providing mental healthcare.
What is it like to provide mental health service to veterans?
Let’s listen to one of my clinical supervisors-Dr. Ken Cogswell, located at the Mann-Grandstaff VAMC-talk about psychological care of veterans.
So, what approaches to mental healthcare are typically used?
Certainly, those designed and shown to work for addressing trauma-related (e.g., PTSD) conditions:
PE
CPT
EMDR
However, a host of other therapeutic approaches, as long as they are evidence-based (i.e., empirically supported), are used to treat the variety of other issues that may also present themselves in veterans: CBT, ACT, DBT, and others…
How might these mental health approaches be integrated into healthcare settings (VAMCs)
Behavioral health (i.e., psychological) services are typically offered via a specialty section/wing of a VAMC (i.e., “Behavioral Health”/”Mental Health”) or an integrated “PCMHI” service within its medical section.
Let’s take a look at a video showing the varied healthcare and supportive services offered in the same area (a VAMC) and what the setting may literally look like: Providence VA Medical Center: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN-pd1FOJPA
