IAVA Marine Reserve Staff Sgt. Todd Bowers tells House get it right on mental health

Mental health a top priority, vets group says
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Feb 11, 2008 16:20:32 EST

Mandatory, confidential mental health screening before and after deployments is a top legislative priority for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a 80,000-member organization formed five years ago.

The group’s director of government affairs, Marine Reserve Staff Sgt. Todd Bowers, said current screening programs do not seem to be working.

Bowers, who testified last week before a House subcommittee, said 19 percent of veterans returning from Iraq report mental health problems, but 35 percent seek mental health care within a year of their return. That seems to indicate self-screening is not effective, he said.

“Troops may not be filling out their forms accurately; troops needing counseling are not consistently getting referrals; and those with referrals do not always get treatment,” Bowers said.

Bowers suggested two other ways to reduce the stigma:

• Impose a moratorium on military discharges for personality disorders, at least until a review is done to determine if the military was too quick to blame problems on pre-existing conditions.

• Amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to make clear that mental health treatment should have preference over criminal prosecution when a service member attempts suicide.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/02/military_mentalhealth_screening_080211w/