With the Help of a Video Game, Virtual Help for Families of Veterans

Friday, November 11, 2011    By Fred Mogul     Click to play

Posted at http://www.darkestcloset.blogspot.com/,

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  Christian Campos (Fred Mogul/WNYC)

Christian Campos is playing a different kind of video game.

Campos, 25, has been following the animated story of a U.S. Marine who has returned home to live with his parents after serving on the front lines.
The game, “Family of Heroes,” is an online interactive role-playing program aimed at helping loved ones communicate with veterans dealing with post-deployment problems, and ultimately, get them treatment.

He nodded his head and smiled knowingly at the screen. He said the similarities between the fictional Marine and his brother, Junior, 22, were uncanny.

Junior spent 10 months in Afghanistan and earlier this year returned to Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he is now. He’s come home to his family in Paterson, N.J., a few times since being back.

“Seeing my brother very anxious, seeing my brother with all those feelings of going back to war, because be feels more safe, he feels more normal, he feels he belongs there — is totally sad, is totally devastating to me as well as my parents," Christian said.

There are an estimated 34,000 veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in the metropolitan area, and with the final withdrawal of troops from Iraq by the end of the year, that number is expected to increase. As many as two-thirds of combat veterans locally have mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Veterans Administration.



(Photo: Courtesy of Kognito Interactive)
The military services, the V.A. and independent support groups offer a range of services for families, so they can get help for their loved ones, but many people don’t know where to start.

Ann Feder, a supervisor for mental health services for the regional V.A., hopes the new online program that Christian Campos is playing, called Family of Heroes, will find its way to other people like the Campos family.

“We already do face-to-face outreaches,” she said, “but this is the first time we’re doing a program for any family member, loved one, somebody who cares about the veteran online.”

"Family of Heroes" was produced by a New York City firm called Kognito, which has a $200,000 contract with the local V.A. It's too new to have much of a track record, but more rigorous study is in the works.
V.A. officials said they don’t expect an interactive online program to take the place of traditional resources for families, such as help lines and support groups.

Psychologist Barbara Van Dahlen, who runs a volunteer program for veterans called Give an Hour, said the easy-to-access simulation is one more tool among several.

“Obviously, it’s not going to be the right method for every family,” Van Dahlen said. “But the goal is to create a variety of options, of opportunities to get information to families.”

"Family of Heroes" takes about an hour, and features three families with different challenges. Viewers watch a conversation between spouses or parents and returning veterans, and then replay it, taking the role of the loved one, and trying out different replies, until gently persuading the veteran to seek counseling help.

Christian Campos, taking the role of the virtual Marine’s mother, doesn’t quite get him all the way into therapy, but playing around just a little with the simulation, he gets him to accept the idea of possibly seeing someone. It’s a start.

Christian said he feels newly confident about broaching sensitive subjects with his brother, Junior, who’s returning soon for Thanksgiving: “Knowing how to handle a situation...that could save his life,” Christian said.
Christian Campos said his brother, Junior, was in several vehicles that were hit by roadside bombs, and he was shot in the head, but saved by his helmet.

Speaking from North Carolina, Junior said coming back from Afghanistan took some adjustment  initially. He had some problems with anger, but not any more.

“I have no issues. I have no problems now,” he said. “I can control my temper now. I’m calm all the time.”

Junior’s looking forward to coming home for Thanksgiving. Christian, is also upbeat about the upcoming visit – but he also plans to spend some time with the “Family of Heroes” program, and go over it with his parents, just in case.

Obama: PTSD stigmatization must end

August 30, 2011 2:21 PM  By Lucy Madison

President Obama called on Tuesday for an end to the stigmatization of veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and affirmed his recent decision to send condolence letters to the families of service members who took their own lives while serving.

Mr. Obama, speaking at the annual American Legion Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, emphasized his commitment to providing improved support for veterans both during and after their service - particularly in regard to mental health services and job opportunities.

"We're working aggressively to address another signature wound of this war, which has led too many fine troops and veterans to take their own lives--Post Traumatic Stress Disorder," Mr. Obama said. "We're continuing to make major investments--improving outreach and suicide prevention, hiring and training more mental health counselors and treating more veterans than ever before."

The president also explained his recent decision, as reported in July by CBS News, to reverse a long-standing policy of not sending condolence letters to the families of service members who commit suicide while deployed to a combat zone.

"The days when depression and PTSD were stigmatized must end," said Mr. Obama. "That's why I made the decision to start sending condolence letters to the families of service members who take their lives while deployed in a combat zone."

He continued: "These American patriots did not die because they were weak. They were warriors. They deserve our respect. Every man and woman in uniform, and every veteran, needs to know that your nation will be there to help you stay strong. It's the right thing to do."

Mr. Obama first revealed the policy change in a July statement, in which he said he made the decision in consultation with then Defense Secretary Robert Gates and military leaders after a "difficult and exhaustive review" of the policy.

"Our men and women in uniform have borne the incredible burden of our wars, and we need to do everything in our power to honor their service, and to help them stay strong for themselves, for their families and for our nation," he said in that statement.

In his Tuesday remarks, Mr. Obama also lauded those who have served in what he described as the "9/11 Generation," and touted the funding of a post-9/11 GI Bill, which aims to send veterans and their family members to college, as well as provide vocational training and apprenticeships - "so veterans can develop the skills to succeed in today's economy."

"Today, as we near this solemn anniversary, it's fitting that we salute the extraordinary decade of service rendered by the 9/11 Generation-the more than five million Americans who have worn the uniform over the past ten years," he said. "They were there, on duty, that September morning, having enlisted in a time of peace, but they instantly transitioned to a war-footing. They're the millions of recruits who have stepped forward since, seeing their nation at war and saying 'send me.' They're every single soldier, sailor, airman, Marine and Coast Guardsman serving today, who has volunteered to serve in a time of war, knowing they could be sent into harm's way."

He pledged to continue to work to create more jobs for former service members, and again called on Congress to enact tax credits for companies that hire unemployed veterans.

"We cannot, and we must not, balance the budget on the backs of our veterans," he said. "And as commander-in-chief, I won't allow it."

"America will never leave your side," he promised.

Political Hotsheet    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20099337-503544.html Reposted at darkestcloset/bloggerspot.com

Army Suicides Rise to Record Levels in July

ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images

US soldier, Specialist Joshua Schonert from 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, 2-87 Infantry, 3d Brigade Combat Team under Afghanistan's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) lights a cigarette as he prepares for the day following earlier attacks by Taliban insurgents on their checkpoint in Kandalay village, Kandahar province southern Afghanistan on August 5, 2011. US troops together with forces from Afghan National Army repelled Taliban insurgents attacks on the checkpoint protecting the western area of Kandalay village. Since the checkpoint was set up in August 3, 2011, Taliban have staged attacks on the outpost for two consecutive days. AFP PHOTO / ROMEO GACAD (Photo credit should read ROMEO GACAD/AFP/Getty Images)

By Yochi J. Dreazen  August 12, 2011

There were 32 Army suicides in July, the highest monthly toll ever recorded. The grim figure underscores the military’s continuing inability to find ways of preventing troubled soldiers from taking their own lives.

Military officials said 22 active-duty soldiers were thought to have taken their own lives last month, along with 10 reservists. The incidents are under investigation, and it'll be several weeks before the Army definitively rules on each case. If the numbers hold up, July will be the worst month for Army suicide in two years, since the Army first began releasing monthly suicide data. The previous record was June 2010, when 31 soldiers committed suicide.

Senior Army generals have devoted considerable resources towards suicide prevention in recent years, spending hundreds of millions of dollars to develop new military-wide training programs and to hire thousands of additional mental-health personnel. Top officials have also fought the stigma surrounding mental health in the military by encouraging soldiers to seek help, and stressing that psychological maladies like post-traumatic stress disorder should get the same respect as physical injuries like scars or lost limbs.

Still, the military’s suicide problem—fueled by the strains of repeat deployments to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan—shows no signs of abating.  In 2010, 301 active-duty, reserve, and National Guard soldiers committed suicide, up from 242 in 2009. In 2008, the military’s suicide rate exceeded that of the general population for the first time ever.  All told, more than 1,000 military personnel have taken their own lives since the start of the two wars.

"Every suicide represents a tragic loss to our Army and the nation,” Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff, said in a written release.  “While the high number of potential suicides in July is discouraging, we are confident our efforts … are having a positive impact.”

Still, Chiarelli said he and other top officials “absolutely recognize there is much work to be done.”

The ongoing rise in military suicide comes amid a broader debate about what it truly means to be a casualty of Iraq or Afghanistan. With troops serving repeat deployments, psychological maladies like post-traumatic stress disorder and hard-to-spot physical injuries like traumatic brain injury are emerging as the signature wounds of the long wars.

In 2008, for instance, the RAND Corporation estimated that one out of every five Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have symptoms of PTSD or major depression. Both are closely linked to suicide. But some suicides had little to do with deployment: Army studies have found 79 that percent of the suicides occurred within the first three years of service, whether soldiers had deployed or not.

Many within the military have been pushing senior commanders to treat troops who suffer invisible wounds like PTSD more like those with traditional injuries like lost limbs. In the summer of 2008, for instance, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the military should consider awarding the Purple Heart, one of its highest honors, to veterans with PTSD. Supporters of the move argued that the change would reduce the stigma that surrounds the disorder and prevents troubled troops from seeking help; opponents argued that it would cheapen an award intended only for those with physical injuries. In the end, the Pentagon dropped the idea.

The Obama administration, for its part, has tried to remove the stigma surrounding military suicide by implementing new policies last month under which the president will send condolence letters to the families of troops who commit suicide in Iraq or Afghanistan. Previously, they received such letters from senior generals, but not from the president himself.

The move came after years of lobbying by the families of the hundreds of soldiers who have killed themselves since the wars began in late 2001. In a written statement last month, Obama said veterans of the conflicts suffered “unseen wounds of war.”

“This issue is emotional, painful, and complicated, but these Americans served our nation bravely,” Obama said at the time. “They didn’t die because they were weak. And the fact that they didn’t get the help they needed must change.” 

For now, though, the military’s suicide numbers continue to rise higher and higher.

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Posted at http://www.nationaljournal.com/army-suicides-rise-to-record-levels-in-july-20110812

reposted at darkestcloset.bloggerspot.com

Mental Health Issues Related to Veterans in the News

IN FOCUS: VETERANS AND MILITARY MENTAL HEALTH
Court Calls for Overhaul of VA Mental Health Services: A federal appeals court has ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to dramatically overhaul its mental health care system. The court criticized both Congress and the administration for failing vets. The "unchecked incompetence" in handling the flood of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health claims is unconstitutional, the court said. It noted that it takes the VA an average of four years to fully provide mental health benefits owed to veterans and often takes weeks for a veteran with suicidal thoughts to get an initial appointment. One member of the three-judge panel dissented, stating that the decision would only prolong litigation and complicate the agency’s efforts to improve services. (Reuters, 5/10/11)

More Than Half of Recent Vets Have Mental Health Problems: More than half of all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans treated in Department of Veterans Affairs’ hospitals since 2002 have been diagnosed, at least preliminarily, with mental health problems, according to statistics. The data, which is released quarterly, also shows that the raw number of returning soldiers with psychological problems is rising. Nearly 18,000 new patients were treated for mental health issues at VA facilities in the last three months of last year—the most recent time period for which data is available— upping the total to more than 330,000. (Pro Publica, 5/11/11)

Stress of Troops Reaches Five-Year High: U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan are experiencing some of the greatest psychological stress and lowest morale in five years of fighting, according to a military study. Mental health strain was most severe among veterans of three or more deployments, with a third of those showing signs of psychological problems defined as either stress, depression or anxiety. The report notes that the number of mental health staff has doubled in war zones in order to ensure treatment is available immediately for soldiers who suffer psychological trauma. (USA Today, 5/8/11)

Few Troops Exposed to Bomb Blasts Examined for Concussions: More than half of U.S. combat troops in Afghanistan have been exposed to bomb blasts in the last year, but only about 1 in 5 of them said they were examined for concussions, according to a draft of a recent military survey. Medical officials failed to screen about 80 percent of soldiers and Marines who reported being within 50 meters of a roadside blast during their tour of duty, according to combat troops surveyed in July and August of last year. However, the survey was conducted before the full implementation of a new policy beginning in June that mandates screening of troops exposed to bomb blasts. (Pro Publica, 5/10/11)