You’ve got to scratch your head when one of the government’s chief advocates for health care in the Veterans Administration just reinforces the old stigmas associated with mental health concerns. Testifying before a federal judge in San Francisco, Michael Kussman said:

“The number of patients who have adjustment reactions to the experience that they have in […]

The devastating numbers released by researchers today suggest not only that approximately 1 in 5 returning U.S. soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan may have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or a traumatic brain injury (TBI), but also that veterans often fail to seek care for these problems.
The study was conducted by the RAND Corporation and suggests […]

The practice of acupuncture is believed to have been developed in China and has been around for centuries to treat many common physical ailments. Recently though, acupuncture has been gaining momentum in mental health applications as well.
A New York Times article reports that acupuncture and “ear seeds” in particular is a growing […]

Two stories out this week suggest that you have a lot more to worry about than just getting shot at by the enemy in today’s Army.
Today, the Army reported that suicides for 2007 jumped 20% over the previous year, up to 121 soldiers. CNN has the story:

Internal briefing papers prepared by the Army’s psychiatry […]

This is a letter to the editor of my local paper that wasn’t published. Slightly modified to be more global.
“Hurry up, you fat f***ing bitch,” said the young man. His companion mewed obediently and walked faster. Another woman in a trendy outfit said nothing. We were strangers walking along a sidewalk and I didn’t confront […]

Soldiers returning from the war in Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been big news for the past few years. The military has promised increased services for returning vets, and the VA hospitals are seeing increasing PTSD cases. Interestingly, some psychologists are using virtual reality computer modeling to help treat PTSD for some of […]

Can eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), a psychotherapy technique, work to help people with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in just 5 sessions? The short answer is, yes.
And what about its long-term effects of EMDR? Do the benefits continue even after treatment has ended? Yes again.
For the first answer, I turn to Swedish researchers […]

NeuroVR is a new virtual reality application that can be used with an ordinary computer monitor or an immersive visual device. Award-winning open source software from Italian researchers Prof. G. Riva and Dr. Andrea Gaggioli, it’s now available as a free download.
Virtual reality therapy is most often used for anxiety treatments but has other applications […]

As if the embattled Walter Reed Army hospital didn’t have enough on its plate with charges of neglect and poor patient care. Now Anne Hull and Dana Priest of The Washington Post detail the lack of proper mental health care for returning soldiers in today’s edition. It’s a heart-wrenching article that just makes me mad […]

Here’s a good series of online videos to help parents of children with anxiety disorders like OCD, social anxiety, separation anxiety, phobias, etc. Helping Your Anxious Child or Teen includes short interviews with experts outlining each type of disorder and how they present in children, including diagnostic tips, home management strategies and advice for self-care. […]

We’ve published two articles in the past day about dealing with the aftermath of a trauma, spurred by the Virginia Tech tragedy.
Dealing with the Traumatic Aftermath details Psychological First Aid, a newer set of techniques and focus that helps professionals better identify at-risk individuals, instead of holding large “trauma groups” that would often create […]

A recent article posted on Science Daily.com titled “Social Workers may indirectly experience post-traumatic stress“, discusses the impact that post traumatic stress disorder affected clients can have on their social worker. Research conducted at the University of Georgia; found that “repeatedly hearing the stories of trauma victims doubles the risk of social workers themselves […]