VA doctors tell Mullen that vets need mental health screenings

VA doctors tell Mullen that vets need mental health screenings
Too many troops are returning from war zones with undiagnosed psychological problems, the physicians tell the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during his visit to the VA hospital in West L.A.
By Peter Spiegel, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 21, 2008
Senior physicians with the veterans health system in Los Angeles told the top U.S. military officer Saturday that the Pentagon needs to overhaul the way it discharges troops because hundreds are leaving the armed forces with undiagnosed combat-related mental health problems.

Several of the physicians, including the system's chief of staff and its top psychiatrist, advocated mandatory mental health screenings for all service members who retire after serving in war zones.


The doctors said that because of the stigma attached to combat stress disorders, few troops acknowledge or seek help for psychological problems while in the military, meaning most remain undiagnosed until they run into family or work problems in the civilian world. Combat stress disorders become more difficult to treat the longer they remain undiagnosed.

"We need to make it a gradual discharge process with milestones, whether it's six months or a year, whatever it takes," said Dr. Robert Rubin, chief of mental health at the Veterans Administration healthcare system for Greater Los Angeles. "The stigma goes away if they have no choice but to go for the exams."
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