New PTSD Approach Offers Reduced Stigma at Lackland Air Force Base

New PTSD Approach Offers Reduced Stigma
July 14, 2009
Air Force Print Newsby Lt. Col. Lesa Spivey

LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas - Servicemembers seeking help for deployment-related post-traumatic stress disorder now have the option of being treated through primary care channels at a new pilot program offered at Wilford Hall Medical Center here.

The primary goal of this new research program is to offer effective therapy for PTSD within the primary care environment, where servicemembers are likely to feel more comfortable seeking mental health assistance.

Servicemembers who wish to participate in this type of treatment program simply schedule an appointment with their primary care manager and go to their primary care facility, just as they would for any other treatment. The primary care manager then refers the servicemember to the behavioral health consultant who works in the primary care clinic. This process helps to mainstream the treatment alongside other, more routine care. It is hoped that, as a result, a servicemember will feel less isolated or ostracized and be more willing to ask for help.

PTSD is caused by exposure to a traumatic event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury. An individual who is experiencing PTSD symptoms may have been personally threatened or injured, or he or she might have witnessed the death or serious injury of another. In either case, the severity of PTSD is directly related to the level of threat to the person's life or the lives of others while in the combat environment.

PTSD is one of the top health concerns for servicemembers returning from combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recent studies of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans suggest that 5 to 17 percent of U.S. military personnel returning from deployments have PTSD symptoms and as many as 25 percent report some psychological problems.

Almost 2 million U.S. military personnel have deployed in support of OIF/OEF, and estimates in this population indicate that 100,000 to 300,000 OIF/OEF veterans are at significant risk for chronic PTSD.
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New PTSD Approach Offers Reduced Stigma