[NYAPRS Enews] AP: US General Bucks Military Silence On Mental Health

[Harvey Rosenthal]

US General Bucks Military Silence On Mental Health 

The Associated Press  November 8, 2008 

WASHINGTON: It takes a brave soldier to do what Army Maj. Gen. David
Blackledge did in Iraq.

It takes as much bravery to do what he did when he got home.

Blackledge got psychiatric counseling to deal with wartime trauma, and
now is defying the military's culture of silence on the subject of
mental health problems and treatment.

"It's part of our profession. ... Nobody wants to admit that they've got
a weakness in this area," Blackledge said about mental health problems
among troops who return from America's two wars.

"I have dealt with it. I'm dealing with it now," said Blackledge, who
came home with post-traumatic stress. "We need to be able to talk about
it."

As the United States marks another Veterans Day on Tuesday, thousands of
troops continue coming home with anxiety, depression and other emotional
problems.

Up to 20 percent of the more than 1.7 million who have served in Iraq
and Afghanistan are estimated to have symptoms. In a sign of how tough
it may be to change attitudes, roughly half those who need help are not
seeking it, studies have found.

Despite efforts to reduce the stigma of getting treatment, officials say
they fear generals and other senior leaders remain unwilling to go for
help, much less talk about it, partly because they fear it will hurt
chances for promotion.

That reluctance is also worrisome because it sends the wrong signal to
younger officers and perpetuates the problem leaders are working to
reverse.

"Stigma is a challenge," Army Secretary Pete Geren said at a Pentagon
news conference Friday on troop health care. "It's a challenge in
society in general. It's certainly a challenge in the culture of the
Army, where we have a premium on strength, physically, mentally,
emotionally."

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, asked leaders
this year to set an example for all soldiers, sailors, airmen and
Marines: "You can't expect a private or a specialist to be willing to
seek counseling when his or her captain or colonel or general won't do
it."

Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, an Army psychiatrist heading the defense center
for psychological health and traumatic brain injury, is developing a
campaign in which people will tell their personal stories. Troops, their
families and others also will share worries and ideas through Web links
and other programs. Blackledge volunteered to help, and next week he and
his wife, Iwona, an Air Force nurse, will speak on the subject at a
medical conference.

A two-star Army Reserve general, 54-year-old Blackledge commanded a
civil affairs unit on two tours in Iraq, and now works in the Pentagon
on reserve mobilization issues.

His convoy was ambushed in February 2004, during his first deployment.
In the attack that he has since relived in flashbacks and recurring
nightmares, Blackledge's interpreter was shot through the head, his
vehicle rolled over several times and Blackledge crawled out of it with
a crushed vertebrae and broken ribs. He found himself in the middle of a
fire fight, and he and other survivors took cover in a ditch.

He said he was visited by a psychiatrist within days after arriving at
Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. He had several sessions
with the doctor over his 11 months of recovery and physical therapy for
his injuries.

"He really helped me," Blackledge said. And that's his message to
troops.

"I tell them that I've learned to deal with it. It's become part of who
I am," he said.

He still has bad dreams about once a week, but no longer wakes from them
in a sweat; and they are no longer so unsettling.

On his second tour to Iraq, Blackledge traveled to neighboring Jordan to
work with local officials on Iraq border issues, and he was in an Amman
hotel in November 2005, when suicide bombers attacked and killed some 60
people and wounding hundreds.

Blackledge got a whiplash injury that took months to heal. The
experience, including a harrowing escape from the chaotic scene,
rekindled his post-traumatic stress symptoms, though they were not as
strong as those he had suffered after the 2004 ambush.

Officials across the service branches have acted during the last year to
make getting help easier and more discreet, such as embedding mental
health teams into units.

They see signs that stigma has been slowly easing. But changing that
probably will take generations.

Last year, 29 percent of troops with symptoms said they feared seeking
help would hurt their careers, down from 34 percent the previous year,
according to an Army survey. Nearly half feared they would be seen as
weak, down from 53 percent.

The majority of troops who get help are able to get better and to remain
on the job.

Associated Press writer Lolita Baldor contributed to this report.

On the Net: Information on veterans health care:
http://www.warriorcare.mil

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/08/america/NA-US-Military-Mental-
Health.php 

--------------

Veterans Day Highlights Need for Military Mental Health Care

Marketwatch  November 11, 2008

 

Veterans Day gives Americans the opportunity to celebrate the bravery
and sacrifice of all U.S. veterans. This year, the month of November has
been named Warrior Care Month by the U.S. Department of Defense. The
American Psychiatric Association (APA) is raising awareness for the need
for continued mental health services for all military service members
and their families. Returning service members face rising mental health
issues, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain
injury and depression. 

 

The APA joined other mental health organizations today in recognizing
Give an Hour, a national grassroots network that provides free mental
health services to military members and their families. 

 

"Not all wounds are physical. There are those hidden injuries that
impact the mental health of soldiers, their friends, families and dear
ones," said Carolyn Robinowitz, M.D., APA past president at the press
event. "All wounds need attention, and a soldier's mental health wounds
are no different. 

 

The combat experience presents a multitude of challenges to service
members -- challenges that persist and affect those with whom they
interact." 

Robinowitz, who has joined the network, noted the importance of giving
her time to those who have served their country. "I joined the
Give-an-Hour network to make a difference. From both a personal and
professional perspective, I recognize the importance of providing
confidential, compassionate and free mental health care that is easily
available locally for military service members and their families." 

 

In fact, the American Psychiatric Association has made a strong
commitment to advocate on behalf of military members and their families
to ensure funding for needed mental health services, improved access to
these services, and programs that help reduce the stigma of seeking
treatment. As one piece of that effort, the American Psychiatric
Association has compiled a number of resources on issues such as PTSD
and depression as well as links to helpful information on
www.healthyminds.org <http://www.healthyminds.org> . 

 

Many studies have demonstrated the significant incidence of mental
health problems affecting the military serving in Iraq and Afghanistan:
depression, anxiety, substance use disorders. The enormity of the
problem was demonstrated in a recent study by the RAND Corporation for
example, in which roughly one third of military members returning home
from a combat zone was found to suffer from mental health problems. 

 

Specifically, finding showed nearly 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering
from major depression or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and another
320,000 have experienced traumatic brain injuries. 

 

Only about half of those suffering from mental illness have sought
treatment. 

 

Family members too experience stress and anxiety related to deployment.
In a study conducted by the American Psychiatric Association, nearly
half of spouses surveyed reported difficulty sleeping, and more than a
third reported both experiencing anxiety and feeling depressed at least
twice a week. In addition, parental stress and emotional distress
negatively impacts children's behavior and school performance. 

 

Additionally, both military members and their spouses reported low
levels of knowledge of the warning signs of, and effective treatment
options for, mental health issues that may result from having served in
support of a war zone. Slightly more than half felt uninformed and about
one quarter reported they know nothing at all about effective treatment
options. 

 

Another challenge faced by the military community is stigma. The same
APA survey, two thirds of military members reported that they believe
seeking help for mental health concerns would have at least some
negative impact on their career. Twenty-eight percent felt it would have
a moderate or a great deal of negative impact. 

 

Robinowitz noted that mental health professionals need to do a better
job of getting information on mental health issues to these individuals.


 

"These military servicemen and women have put their lives on the line to
serve their country; we as mental health professionals can easily give
one hour each week to help meet their needs," concluded Robinowitz. "I
am encouraging all licensed mental health professionals to join this
network and give an hour." 

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Veterans-Day-Highlights-Need-Milit
ary/story.aspx?guid=%7B354C886B-6371-4179-B5EE-EDD0079AB0D9%7D 

 

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