Mental Health Benefits For Veterans

Hundreds of thousands of United States veterans are not able to leave the horrors of war on the battlefield (“Forever at War: Veterans Everyday Battles with PTSD” 1). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the reason why these courageous military service members cannot live a normal life when they are discharged. One out of every five military service members on combat tours—about 300,000 so far—return home with symptoms of PTSD or major depression. According to the Rand Study, almost half of these cases go untreated because of the disgrace that the military and civil society attach to mental disorders (McGirk 1). The general population of the world has to admit that they have had a nightmare before. Imagine not being able to sleep one

Combat veterans are among the highest at risk for issues in transitioning form military life to civilian. Many potentially suffer from both physical and/or mental traumas. Many veterans and even active duty services members have allowed the unofficial culture of if you need mental or medical help you are weak. Many military families are also afraid of utilizing family support mechanisms out of fear of

Today, hundreds of thousands of service men and women and recent military veterans have seen combat. Many have been shot at, seen their buddies killed, or witnessed death up close. These are types of events that can lead to Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder ("Post Traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD: A Growing Epidemic. “) Anyone that has gone through a traumatic event can be diagnosed with PTSD but research shows, military men and women are more susceptible to having PTSD (PTSD: A Growing Epidemic.) And, with little help from the US, many Veterans do not get the help they need or get treated for PTSD. Military men and women begin to

➢ Send your Military Transcripts for all training exercises completed to our Admissions Office. (Your own copy of your transcript is not considered official unless it is sealed.). It is up to WGU to determine prior credit, and official transcripts are the only acceptable documentation (a DD214 is insufficient) Transcript requests can be made on the internet at the following locations:

Homeless veterans seem to be a defenseless population by definition, as they are a subgroup in the population that is likely to have health problems or worse health challenges because of exposure to risks unlike the rest of the population. Many research undertaken to differentiate health problems linked to homeless veterans. They are vulnerable to co-morbidity of abuse of substances, mental, physical health infections and disorders than the common homeless population. Their inability to get or refuse treatment worsens their exposure to complications.

Bennett, PhD; Hilary J. Liberty, Ph 2013 107). Prior research has evaluated the prevalence of MH concerns and opportunities for treatment at various points in the military/veteran career including post deployment, among those being treated at Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, and in the general population) (Andrew Golub, PhD; Peter Vazan, PhD; Alexander S. Bennett, PhD; Hilary J. Liberty, Ph 2013 107). The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data indicate that a substantial portion of young veterans in the general population have substance use disorder (18%) or Serious Psychological Distress (SPD) (14%) (Andrew Golub, PhD; Peter Vazan, PhD; Alexander S. Bennett, PhD; Hilary J. Liberty, Ph 2013 111). All in all, the NSDUH proved to be an extremely valuable resource for this study, and indeed, the results of this analysis for unmet treatment needs have identified important directions for further research into reasons for not getting treatment, especially for SPD (Andrew Golub, PhD; Peter Vazan, PhD; Alexander S. Bennett, PhD; Hilary J. Liberty, Ph 2013 113). The Veterans Administration and National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) are taking steps in the right direction to help our veterans with their unmet needs with substance abuse and PTSD. Some examples of improvements are, better mental health evaluations before leaving active duty, more information about military service, and tracking trends among veterans in the general population, who are not necessarily in contact with the

The first step in the process: making an appointment with your primary care physician, second, get a referral from your primary care physician to see a case worker, third, talk to your case worker about your mental health issues, fourth, getting an appointment with a mental health care doctor, fifth, attending your mental health care appointment, after you have taken all of these steps 2-7 months may have gone by. In the EBSCO article,” VA Health System and Mental Health Treatment Retention” it states,” Throughout the entire of process of trying to attain mental health care the patient (you) maybe deteriorating mentally more and more each day. It is stated in the EBSCO article “Access to VA Services for Returning Veterans with PTSD” “This is unacceptable”. We as veterans have voluntarily served our country proudly, because of this service we at times come back with one or many mental illnesses. We deserve proper mental health care that is administered in a timely and safe manner.

The Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) has been tasked with providing support and benefits to Veterans after they have completed their service. However, many Veterans are reporting difficulty accessing care due to systematic barriers within the VA’s Veterans Health Administration (Oliver, 2007). Complex eligibility requirements, long wait lists and lack of providers are a few of the issues Veterans are faced with when trying to access health and mental health care. Additionally, studies indicate that veterans, predominantly those from the recent wars in Iran and Iraq, have disproportionately high amounts of mental illness (Shim & Rust, 2013). These same veterans are experiencing difficulty accessing mental health care due to issues around a backlog of healthcare eligibility applications and a shortage of mental health providers through the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which operates the Nation’s largest, integrated health care delivery system (APA, 2014). In 2014, at the request of the Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) evaluated the merit of the allegations of mismanagement at the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) and the Health Eligibility Center (HEC).

The VA runs the largest substance use disorder treatment program in the world. Treatment of veterans with SUDs and co-occurring psychiatric disorders is one of the following three paradigms; parallel, sequential, and integrated. Most VA programs are parallel, where the patient receives treatment for SUD in one program and treatment for PTSD in another. Many SUD-PTSD veterans may be unable to navigate the separate systems or make sense of the disparate messages about PTSD treatment and recovery. One challenge to dissemination and implementation of EBTs is that of dual disorders, particularly SUD and PTSD. These patients use costly inpatient services, tend to have frequent relapses, and are less likely to adhere to or complete treatment.

Since 2012, WWP Program Grants have held two annual grant cycles to support the increasing number of returning wounded veterans and their reintegration needs. Brett Miller is a U.S. Army veteran and founder of Warfighter Outfitters, Inc. His 2005 deployment to Iraq left him with a traumatic brain injury (TBI), saw a unique opportunity to help fellow injured service members through the camaraderie and bonding offered by two of his own interests: hunting and fishing (Newswire). Then there 's Staff Sergeant Erick Millette. During two tours in Iraq, Erick survived 17 IED attacks. They left him with the kinds of injuries that you can 't always see: head trauma, brain injury, PTSD. Millette’s military career was cut short, but he 's taken on a new mission, and that 's sharing his story with audiences across the country. He spread the message that it 's okay to talk about these unseen wounds of war, to seek out help and to seek out support. Millette says that the Wounded Warrior Project literally saved his life, and now through his work, he 's helping save even more lives (Secretary).

One of the most serious problems facing all veterans today is the lack of proper healthcare. Soldiers, sailors and airmen are leaving active duty without having proper healthcare to cover their physical or mental injuries. The department responsible for veteran’s healthcare is the Department of Veterans Affairs. (VA) According to The department of Veterans Affairs website, “The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is responsible for administering programs of veterans’ benefits for veterans, their families, and survivors. The benefits provided include disability compensation, pension, education, home loans, life insurance, vocational

Rates of trauma and mental illness are reported to be disproportionately higher among American veterans, especially those of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The barriers to care after civilian reentry further disadvantage this already vulnerable population. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been the longest sustained US military operations since the Vietnam era, sending more than 2.2 million troops into battle and resulting in more than 6,600 deaths and 48,000 injuries. Veterans are at risk mental health challenges, as well as family instability, elevated rates of homelessness, and joblessness. Veterans have disproportionate rates of mental illness, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse disorders, depression, anxiety, and military sexual trauma.

The Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) began in the year 2003 after many veterans and their friends discovered the necessity to send items of comfort to service members who are wounded and coming back home from Iraq and Afghanistan. From that time, the WWP has developed into a full rehabilitative effort to help warriors as they shift back into a life of a civilian. Using an approach that is holistic, the WWP serves soldiers as well as their families through nurturing the body and mind, and promoting economic engagement as well as empowerment. Through this, service is offered to service members and veterans who sustained a mental or physical injury, sickness, or wound at the time their military service on the 11th of September 2001 or after that date.

Myra, interestingly enough the Veterans Health Administration does not deal directly with any benefits processing. The Veterans Benefits Administration is a separate “organization” within the Department of Veterans Affairs. However, as our text points out, the interconnectedness between related organizations is extremely important to remember (Nassar, 2007). One issue we deal with quite frequently is the veterans misperception that by being admitted to acute psychiatry helps speed up the benefits process. Malingering, or the exaggerating of symptoms for secondary gain, is a clear issue in psychiatry (Richte, 2014). Unfortunately, our current benefits system sometimes makes it difficult to determine the severity of symptoms. For instance, a

Many challenges still remain as Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seek available access to mental health care. These challenges include the resistance and stigma to seek care, lack of