Suicide of GI spotlights mental care issues

Suicide of GI spotlights mental care issues
By Kimberly Hefling - The Associated Press
Posted : Thursday Jan 15, 2009 11:22:21 EST

WASHINGTON — In 2005, an Army captain in Iraq asked for a mental health evaluation for one of his soldiers, a private first class from North Carolina who was known to put the muzzle of his weapon in his mouth.

The case was assigned to a psychologist who was unlicensed — a common practice in the early years of the war, when the Army rushed mental health counselors to the combat zone even if some weren’t certified or fully qualified.

The psychologist reported that a screening indicated the 20-year-old private, Jason Scheuerman, was “capable of claiming mental illness” to manipulate his superiors and did not have a mental disorder. Three weeks later, Scheuerman stepped into a barracks closet and shot himself to death. He had nailed a note to the closet that said, “Maybe finaly I can get some peace.”

His death, the subject of an internal Army investigation exposed to The Associated Press by his family, casts light on the armed forces’ reliance on unlicensed counselors before the Army policy was changed to exclude them in 2006.

At the time of Scheuerman’s suicide, unlicensed psychologists and other counselors were allowed to examine soldiers provided they were supervised by licensed professionals. The same rules are common in civilian evaluations.
click link above for more