Texas Bills Target Soldiers' Mental Woes

Bills Target Soldiers' Mental Woes
April 18, 2009
Knight Ridder/Tribune

El Paso, TX. - State senators this week advanced bills that would provide a support network for combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder or other psychological problems.

State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, filed a bill that would direct the Department of State Health Services to set up a peer counseling program.

Legislation approved by the Senate Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee would go even further. The bill, filed by Sen. Leticia van de Putte, D-San Antonio, would require the Department of State Health Services to develop a set of guidelines for professionals treating veterans with psychological disorders.

Another part of the bill would coordinate mental-health services in areas without Veterans Affairs offices. The bill has features of one filed by state Sen. Eliot Shapleigh, D-El Paso.

Gary Larcenaire, chief executive officer of El Paso Mental Health Mental Retardation, has started a program to train U.S. veterans in mental-health counseling. The idea is to help returning soldiers overcome the stigma of being treated for mental illness.

"There was a military culture I could never really understand," he said. "They will not speak with a trained psychological professional who has not seen combat."
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Bills Target Soldiers' Mental Woes