PTSD Coach app helped 5,000 veterans connect

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) App Helps Thousands

WASHINGTON (May 17, 2011) - The PTSD Coach smartphone application (app),
launched in April by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the
Department of Defense (DoD), has already helped more than 5,000 users
connect with important mental health information and resources.

"This new tool is about helping Veterans and Servicemembers when and
where they need it," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki. "We are encouraged so many have already downloaded this
resource and hope many more will utilize this convenient tool to access
VA services."

Since its launch, the PTSD Coach app has been downloaded by thousands of
individuals. While 96 percent of the users so far are located in the
United States, the app has also been downloaded in 25 other countries.
The app lets users track their PTSD symptoms, links them with public and
personalized sources of support, provides accurate information about
PTSD, and teaches helpful strategies for managing PTSD symptoms on the
go.

Currently, the PTSD Coach app has received perfect customer review
scores on the iTunes App Store. Comments from Veterans and family
members are overwhelmingly positive and one user describes the app as "a
must for every spouse who has a family member with PTSD." Professionals
have sent positive reviews, suggestions and offers to collaborate on
research evaluating the PTSD Coach app.

The app has also already proven to be a useful tool for the staff at the
Veterans Crisis Line. Within the first two hours of the app's official
launch, the Crisis Line staff were contacted by a distressed Veteran who
reported being instructed by the app to call the crisis line and was
subsequently given an appointment at the local VA medical center.
Crisis Line staff have begun to regularly recommend this resource to
callers.

The app is one of the first in a series of jointly-designed resources by
the VA National Center for PTSD and DoD's National Center for Telehealth
and Technology to help Servicemembers and Veterans manage their
readjustment challenges and get anonymous assistance. Given the
popularity of mobile devices, VA and DoD hope to reach tens of thousands
of Veterans, Servicemembers, and their family members with the new suite
of apps.

Information on the PTSD Coach app is on the VA's National Center for
PTSD Website: PTSD Coach app. More
apps can be found from DoD's

National Center for Telehealth and Technology