Internet helps veterans suffering traumas find help, support
Written by
Carter Andrews
More than 2 million soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. According to RAND Corp. statistics, about 360,000 will suffer from severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
One of the particularly heinous consequences of PTSD is it makes people lose trust in institutions set up to support them. They've seen so much and they've lost so much, they don't trust anyone but those who were in the trenches with them.
That's where the Internet comes in. We started notalone.com as a community to help warriors and families support each other as they deal with life after war. To serve the community, we layer in services such as online support groups and online education. These services create the trust we need to persuade warriors and their families to seek our in-person services.
For National Guardsmen and women, the Internet is their life support when they return back to their local communities, where few people can understand what they've been through and how to help.
Through our online portal, Not Alone is helping military families, warriors and veterans heal from devastating psychological and emotional traumas including PTSD, depression, anxiety and alcohol and drug addiction. Without immediate access to behavioral health services, these traumas can have disastrous effects on warriors, their families and communities.
read more here
Internet helps veterans suffering traumas find help, support
Showing posts with label military support group. Show all posts
Showing posts with label military support group. Show all posts
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
NJ center to run counseling program at Fort Hood
NJ center to run counseling program at Fort Hood
By BETH DeFALCO Associated Press © 2011 The Associated Press
Feb. 1, 2011, 2:24PM
TRENTON, N.J. — In response to a record number of suicides in 2010, one of the nation's largest Army posts is turning to a successful veteran-to-veteran counseling program in New Jersey for help.
Beginning Tuesday, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey will provide a toll-free, 24-hour helpline for soldiers and families at Fort Hood in Texas.
Based in Piscataway, N.J., the Vets4Warriors helpline for will be staffed by five veterans, including some who served in Vietnam and Iraq. The counselors, who are trained and employed by UMDNJ, will be available for around-the-clock confidential support both over the phone and through an instant messaging system. Soldiers who call can remain anonymous.
"Unfortunately, the suicide rate among the military has risen dramatically in the past eight years," said Christopher Kosseff, CEO of UMDNJ's University Behavioral HealthCare. "Today, a veteran is twice as likely to commit suicide as someone who has never served."
The Army reported 22 suicides of Fort Hood soldiers last year — double the number in 2009 and even higher than the previous record of 14 in 2008 — prompting officials to look for new ways to help struggling soldiers.
Overall in 2010, the Army reported 343 suicides of soldiers, Army civilians and family members — 69 more than in 2009, according to the Defense Department.
Kosseff, who runs the New Jersey program, had the idea of starting the program at Fort Hood after four suicides were reported in one week at the Army post.
"A veteran can really understand the rigors of military life better than someone who has not lived it," Kosseff said.
Kosseff said that having veterans staff the lines and allowing callers to remain anonymous has been a key reason to its success in New Jersey.
"There's an issue that mental health professionals are not highly regarded by some. They are seen as people who can limit someone's activity, rather than someone who is supporting them," he said.
Known as the Vet2Vet program in New Jersey, the helpline was the first of its kind in the nation when it began operating in New Jersey in 2005. It was modeled after a Cop2Cop counseling program for police.
Master Sgt. Chuck Arnold, a counselor and Vietnam veteran who has worked with the New Jersey hotline since it started said that the peer element is crucial.
"Most are very relieved that they don't have to explain the language of the military," Arnold said. "We follow up and do what we say we are going to do. We are 24-7. You'll always get a live voice."
read more here
NJ center to run counseling program at Fort Hood
By BETH DeFALCO Associated Press © 2011 The Associated Press
Feb. 1, 2011, 2:24PM
TRENTON, N.J. — In response to a record number of suicides in 2010, one of the nation's largest Army posts is turning to a successful veteran-to-veteran counseling program in New Jersey for help.
Beginning Tuesday, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey will provide a toll-free, 24-hour helpline for soldiers and families at Fort Hood in Texas.
Based in Piscataway, N.J., the Vets4Warriors helpline for will be staffed by five veterans, including some who served in Vietnam and Iraq. The counselors, who are trained and employed by UMDNJ, will be available for around-the-clock confidential support both over the phone and through an instant messaging system. Soldiers who call can remain anonymous.
"Unfortunately, the suicide rate among the military has risen dramatically in the past eight years," said Christopher Kosseff, CEO of UMDNJ's University Behavioral HealthCare. "Today, a veteran is twice as likely to commit suicide as someone who has never served."
The Army reported 22 suicides of Fort Hood soldiers last year — double the number in 2009 and even higher than the previous record of 14 in 2008 — prompting officials to look for new ways to help struggling soldiers.
Overall in 2010, the Army reported 343 suicides of soldiers, Army civilians and family members — 69 more than in 2009, according to the Defense Department.
Kosseff, who runs the New Jersey program, had the idea of starting the program at Fort Hood after four suicides were reported in one week at the Army post.
"A veteran can really understand the rigors of military life better than someone who has not lived it," Kosseff said.
Kosseff said that having veterans staff the lines and allowing callers to remain anonymous has been a key reason to its success in New Jersey.
"There's an issue that mental health professionals are not highly regarded by some. They are seen as people who can limit someone's activity, rather than someone who is supporting them," he said.
Known as the Vet2Vet program in New Jersey, the helpline was the first of its kind in the nation when it began operating in New Jersey in 2005. It was modeled after a Cop2Cop counseling program for police.
Master Sgt. Chuck Arnold, a counselor and Vietnam veteran who has worked with the New Jersey hotline since it started said that the peer element is crucial.
"Most are very relieved that they don't have to explain the language of the military," Arnold said. "We follow up and do what we say we are going to do. We are 24-7. You'll always get a live voice."
read more here
NJ center to run counseling program at Fort Hood
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Military Support Program helps veterans deal with PTSD
The percentage in this is wrong but it is a good article.
Military Support Program helps veterans deal with PTSD
By: Susan Kondracki, Record-Journal staff
11/12/2009
Imagine waking up in the middle of the night in a sweat overcome with a strong sense of fear, or being unable to sleep as traumatic events replay in your mind like a broken cassette tape with no stop button. Imagine feeling isolated, alone and like no one understands what you are going through.
This is what it can be like for the 18 percent of veterans diagnosed and dealing with depression, anxiety, or post traumatic stress disorder, but the good news is the state's Military Support Program can help.
"People with post traumatic stress disorder oftentimes don't know they have it. It's the people around them, the people that know them that see the signs," said Linda Schwartz, state commissioner of veterans' affairs. "Their families can call the Military Support Program for information and maybe help to plan an intervention rather than just trying to talk to them about it."
Many veterans find it hard to admit they are having mental health issues post deployment.
"For some individuals, this is adversely true. Certain veterans will have difficulty asking for help," said Michael Balkunas, chief of psychiatry and behavioral health and medical director of psychiatry and behavioral health research at the Hospital of Central Connecticut. "The great thing is it can be treated with psychotherapy and medication."
Post traumatic stress is just one of the many disorders that can be diagnosed and treated under state's Military Support Program.
Created in March 2007, the program falls under a state law that requires the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to work with Veterans' Affairs and the Department of Children and Families, to provide transitional behavioral health services for members of any reserve component of the U.S. Armed Forces and their dependents called to active duty in Afghanistan or Iraq, according to a report by the Office of Legislative Research.
read more here
Military Support Program helps veterans deal with PTSD
Saturday, September 5, 2009
SEMINAR FOR SURVIVING FAMILIES OF MILITARY SUICIDE
TAPS: SEMINAR FOR SURVIVING FAMILIES OF MILITARY SUICIDE
OCT. 8-11 IN SAN DIEGO
TAPS SEMINAR FOR SURVIVING FAMILIES OF MILITARY SUICIDE OCT. 8-11 IN SAN DIEGO OFFERS COMFORT
Largest gathering ever held for military suicide survivors will draw more than 200 family members Department of Defense Suicide Prevention Task Force meets Thursday, Oct. 8 to hear from families.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 2, 2009
San Diego, Calif. – Families who have experienced death by suicide of a loved one who served in the military will find help and comfort in a suicide survivor seminar and Good Grief Camp offered October 8-11 by TAPS, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.
“Experiencing the death of a loved one is difficult for any family, and suicide carries unique challenges because of the stigma associated with this type of loss,” said Kim Ruocco, director of suicide survivor education and support with TAPS. Ruocco’s husband, Marine Major John Ruocco, took his own life in 2005 three months after returning from a deployment in Iraq. “The family is left to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives and we’re here to help,” said Ruocco.
TAPS will hold peer mentoring training on Thursday, October 8. Peer mentoring training teaches survivors how to support each other through grief. As part of the training, survivors will also learn how to tell their story in an educational way, which empowers survivors to help others.
At the beginning of the seminar, the Department of Defense Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed Forces, chaired by Major General Philip Volpe and co-chaired by TAPS founder and chairman Bonnie Carroll, will hold a meeting on Thursday, October 8. The task force will hear from surviving families that have experienced the death by suicide of a loved one who served in the military. The task force is preparing a report with recommendations and findings that will be presented to the Secretary of Defense and Congress. More information about the task force is available at http://www.health.mil/dhb/default.cfm
The surviving families left behind following a suicide ask many questions and seek to understand their loved one’s death. The TAPS Suicide Survivor Seminar being held October 9-11 includes advice from experts to help families cope and support group time. The opening session will address common questions asked by suicide survivors with an address by Dr. Frank Campbell called, “The Canyon of Why: Metaphors for Healing from Sudden and Traumatic Loss.”
read more here
SEMINAR FOR SURVIVING FAMILIES OF MILITARY SUICIDE
OCT. 8-11 IN SAN DIEGO
TAPS SEMINAR FOR SURVIVING FAMILIES OF MILITARY SUICIDE OCT. 8-11 IN SAN DIEGO OFFERS COMFORT
Largest gathering ever held for military suicide survivors will draw more than 200 family members Department of Defense Suicide Prevention Task Force meets Thursday, Oct. 8 to hear from families.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 2, 2009
San Diego, Calif. – Families who have experienced death by suicide of a loved one who served in the military will find help and comfort in a suicide survivor seminar and Good Grief Camp offered October 8-11 by TAPS, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.
“Experiencing the death of a loved one is difficult for any family, and suicide carries unique challenges because of the stigma associated with this type of loss,” said Kim Ruocco, director of suicide survivor education and support with TAPS. Ruocco’s husband, Marine Major John Ruocco, took his own life in 2005 three months after returning from a deployment in Iraq. “The family is left to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives and we’re here to help,” said Ruocco.
TAPS will hold peer mentoring training on Thursday, October 8. Peer mentoring training teaches survivors how to support each other through grief. As part of the training, survivors will also learn how to tell their story in an educational way, which empowers survivors to help others.
At the beginning of the seminar, the Department of Defense Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed Forces, chaired by Major General Philip Volpe and co-chaired by TAPS founder and chairman Bonnie Carroll, will hold a meeting on Thursday, October 8. The task force will hear from surviving families that have experienced the death by suicide of a loved one who served in the military. The task force is preparing a report with recommendations and findings that will be presented to the Secretary of Defense and Congress. More information about the task force is available at http://www.health.mil/dhb/default.cfm
The surviving families left behind following a suicide ask many questions and seek to understand their loved one’s death. The TAPS Suicide Survivor Seminar being held October 9-11 includes advice from experts to help families cope and support group time. The opening session will address common questions asked by suicide survivors with an address by Dr. Frank Campbell called, “The Canyon of Why: Metaphors for Healing from Sudden and Traumatic Loss.”
read more here
SEMINAR FOR SURVIVING FAMILIES OF MILITARY SUICIDE
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Gathering gives military families support through grief
Gathering gives military families support through grief
May 2, 2009 - 4:39 PM
R. SCOTT RAPPOLD
THE GAZETTE
Robert Pirelli's pain was like a cancer, eating away at him, sapping his will to live.
Through a national nonprofit, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, he has found the answers he needed about the death of his son, Staff Sgt. Robert R. Pirelli, 29, a Fort Carson Green Beret killed in Iraq in August 2007.
He's also found the comfort of knowing he is not the only one hurting.
"When you come to TAPS, people say, ‘I know what you're going through,' and they really do know what you're going through," Pirelli said.
He came to Fort Carson from Boston this weekend for a TAPS grief seminar, one of 150 widows and mothers, fathers and brothers, fellow soldiers and friends, who gathered to remember loved ones lost to war and to find support in each others' stories.
"It lets the families know their loved ones' sacrifice is remembered and their life made a difference," said Bonnie Carroll, who founded TAPS two years after the death of her husband, Brig. Gen. Tom Carroll, in a 1992 plane crash.
At the time, there was no support system in place for survivors to keep in touch with other military families and people who served with their lost loved ones. She and the families of other people lost in the crash got together on their own.
Ronnie Barrett came from Johnson City, Tenn, for the seminar. His son, Sgt. Chad Barrett, with Fort Carson's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, committed suicide in Iraq in February 2008.
May 2, 2009 - 4:39 PM
R. SCOTT RAPPOLD
THE GAZETTE
Robert Pirelli's pain was like a cancer, eating away at him, sapping his will to live.
Through a national nonprofit, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, he has found the answers he needed about the death of his son, Staff Sgt. Robert R. Pirelli, 29, a Fort Carson Green Beret killed in Iraq in August 2007.
He's also found the comfort of knowing he is not the only one hurting.
"When you come to TAPS, people say, ‘I know what you're going through,' and they really do know what you're going through," Pirelli said.
He came to Fort Carson from Boston this weekend for a TAPS grief seminar, one of 150 widows and mothers, fathers and brothers, fellow soldiers and friends, who gathered to remember loved ones lost to war and to find support in each others' stories.
"It lets the families know their loved ones' sacrifice is remembered and their life made a difference," said Bonnie Carroll, who founded TAPS two years after the death of her husband, Brig. Gen. Tom Carroll, in a 1992 plane crash.
At the time, there was no support system in place for survivors to keep in touch with other military families and people who served with their lost loved ones. She and the families of other people lost in the crash got together on their own.
Ronnie Barrett came from Johnson City, Tenn, for the seminar. His son, Sgt. Chad Barrett, with Fort Carson's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, committed suicide in Iraq in February 2008.
For the father, coming here has been cathartic.
"I didn't realize until I got here there would be so many people with the same story I've got," he said.go here for more
http://www.gazette.com/articles/pirelli-52877-through-robert.html
Monday, February 2, 2009
Proud to announce Military Spouses of America new site
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
I am pleased to announce that Military Spouses for Change (MSC) is now Military Spouses of America (MSA). MSA seeks to be a voice for the American military spouse and her family, in a MEANINGFUL way. MSA will help our spouses understand and utilize all resources available to them, both within the Departments of Defense and VA (if applicable) and outside of them. MSA will also encourage spouses to share their insight and experiences with each other, DoD leadership, elected officials, and the American public.
Why? Because Military Spouses of America believes (and is committed to promoting) the following facts:
1. Family readiness is vital to mission readiness.
2. The well-being of the spouse cannot be divorced from the well-being of the servicemember or veteran (and vice-versa).
3. Both the military and veteran communities benefit from well-informed and well-connected military spouses.
4. The spouses of servicemembers and veterans face unique challenges--challenges for which spouses can, and have, come up with the most effective and creative solutions (individually and collectively).
5. Servicemembers are not the only veterans in military marriages!
Military Spouses of America can be found at www.militaryspousesofamerica.org.
Please make a note of this change and pass this on to anyone you know who may be interested in our organization. Our site also provides fairly in-depth information on PTSD and TBI (as those are issues of particular importance to our community in this time of prolonged military conflict).Take care,Carissa-- Carissa Picard, Esq.PresidentMilitary Spouses of Americawww.militaryspousesofamerica.org
I am on the Board of Directors and have been excited about this for a while but I was waiting for the new site to be up and for Carissa to announce it publicly. She has been working tirelessly to get this up and running.
I will be doing a Q & A session every night very soon where you can ask questions and get some insight to help you understand what is "normal" with PTSD and to learn a lot easier than I did.
What a lot of people do not understand is that older veterans and their families made all the mistakes already and found out what works to live with PTSD in their lives. This is not hopeless, marriages do not have to fall apart and end if love is there and you have the tools to help you navigate through all the changes it brings. Naturally as a Chaplain I can, and probably will more often than not, address the spiritual issues that lead to reconnecting with God and your own faith, or finding faith when you had none before.
Keep in mind that I am not a minister, so I don't push one faith over another nor do I recommend one branch of Christianity over another. I'm too complicated for that. I'm Greek Orthodox, which is a minority in the Christian faith but is the oldest, so I tend to stay out of supporting one denomination over others. As a Chaplain, I'm here to address spiritual needs as you are and where you are spiritually. So if you happen to be of another faith, I will address the faith you have as well as I can. Your spirit called you to your faith for a reason.
The only thing I stay away from as much as possible is medication. That's for your doctor to decide and not someone like me. Your body is too complicated for me to recommend any medication over any others. I will post up warnings when I see them and will post stories on medications but I draw the line on what I will and will not say.
I am not in competition with the VA psychologist and social workers. My job is to get you to understand what PTSD is so you go to them for help and above all, get enough of them there so they are there to help you.
Please go to the new site for Military Spouse of America and go over the pages. A lot of information there. I'll post up when the Q & A begins. Hope to see you there.
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