Up to 7 day wait in Utah for outpatient PTSD help?

It is hard enough for them to admit they need help but when this veteran traveled into another state to be able to get help, he discovered this,

PTSD outpatient treatment (there is no residential treatment for PTSD in Utah) the wait is up to seven days.

He did not survive long enough to get the help he went for.

After Veteran's Death, Family Says He Didn't Get The Help He Needed
KUTV
September 25, 2013

27 year-old James Steven Carlson was found dead in a Murray motel room nearly two weeks ago.

His family doesn't know the official cause of death yet (likely overdose, accidental or intentional) but they know it was emotional war wounds that led to his death. "If my brother had just come home with physical injuries it would have been much more manageable, but I think the emotional scars that he brought home (from war) were ultimately what caused his death," said his oldest sister Amy Tebbs.

James was deployed to Iraq and came home in 2006. He was awarded two purple hearts according to his family. Tebbs said he broke bones in his leg when he fell off a roof during battle. He also suffered a concussion when an IED exploded. He had nightmares, depression and then became dependent on the anti-depressants and anxiety pills he was given to deal with all the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. He had addiction issues. "The hardest thing for me was to see him get worse and worse every day," said his sister Christy Valladares who said her brother was "merely existing, not living this life whatsoever."

The family said Carlson left his wife and kids in Missouri to get help at the VA in Utah thinking it would be easier. In Missouri, he didn't have a car and the VA was two hours away. In Utah, he could take TRAX and have the support of his family.

The Carlsons said they didn't know details of the treatment he sought, but he told them he had a two-week wait for a spot at the residential substance abuse treatment program at the Salt Lake VA. They say he lived at the motel while he awaited his treatment he died in the meantime. "Ive never been to war. I don't know the demons he had in his head but I know that they were real," said Amy of her brothers struggle to be happy.

Dr. Steve Allen at the VA Salt Lake City said there is help for any veteran who goes to the agency for assistance. He said for PTSD outpatient treatment (there is no residential treatment for PTSD in Utah) the wait is up to seven days.

For substance abuse treatment there is both inpatient and outpatient treatment and the wait is about the same. In both cases, he said veterans who are suicidal or in a very bad way, can get crisis help immediately. If there is no room for substance abuse inpatient treatment, the vets are typically referred to an outside clinic who can take them sooner. He could not comment on Carlson's case for privacy reasons.

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Troubled young Utah veteran dies alone, waiting for help