Consider This: Sol Wachtler's essay, "When the Scars of Battle"
. . .a recurring theme
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News: VA low balls mental health budget at $4.4 billion
On the heels of congressional hearings about military sexual trauma (MST), the Government Accounting Office (GAO) asked the Veterans Administration (VA) to fold funding for MST treatment into overall budget requests for mental health services. . .
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News: Witnesses spar at hearings over anti-depressant -- suicide risks

News: Brain scans detect PTSD
A highly technical study with remarkably optimistic rates of accuracy for confirming a diagnosis of PTSD was explained in Scientific American. Magnetoencephelography (MEG),. . .
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News: House packages hate crimes bill with defense spending
The House tucked language for a hate-crime bill (HR 2647) including disabilities into the $680 authorization bill for the Pentagon and Department of Defense spending. . .
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News: Chronic PTSD affects brain functions
Can time alone heal the impact of combat in Iraq? Not likely, according to the results of a study published in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. . . .
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News: Psychosis and understanding risk
Understanding psychosis for risk, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders is not as straightforward as it was once thought to be. . .
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News: Military shifts ideas about mental health

Track Legislation: Medical care for military women
Improvements in mental health treatment for women veterans were part of a bill (HR 1211) the House passed by unanimous vote, 408 to zero. Among the provisions are special training for mental health professionals to treat women for sexual abuse and PTSD, and a study of the barriers, including stigma, to seeking treatment. Reports indicate sexual harassment of military women has increased and is often unreported....
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News: June in the journals

News: Military launches site for PTSD
The normalization of stress around military matters, such as the length and number of deployments, may ironically reduce seeking help for problems such as PTSD, according to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress. When a mental health provider is part of a treatment team, the burden on patients or families to ask for help is greatly reduced. To make it easier for soldiers to seek help, the defense department launched a website, Real Warriors outside the military's domain....
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Consider This: APA: May is Borderline Personality Disorder month
. . .John Gunderson, M.D., lecture
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News: Women's mental health patterns
Anxiety disorders, phobias and major depressions are more common in women than men according to a report from the Office on Women's Health. And while it has long been said that schizophrenia was a male disease, the rates are actually fairly close (1.26 percent for males compared to 1.0 percent for women), in comparison to PTSD, which appears to be twice as common in women and prevalent in women vets. The findings are part of a more intense effort to...
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News: Defining PTSD and combat burden
In uncommon combat where injuries do not always take place on a formal battlefield, criteria for assessing combat-related disability may be outdated. A bill to change the meaning of "combat with the enemy" (HR 952) was introduced by Rep. John J. Hall (D-NY) who opened congressional hearings by noting "an unnecessary burden on veterans diagnosed with Post-traumatic stress disorder - PTSD and other conditions - to prove their combat stressors."...
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News: Brain scans for PTSD
If the results of preliminary studies hold up, brain imaging could be used to diagnose PTSD the way a chest x-ray shows TB. That's the hope based on research conducted on 42 soldiers returning from Afghanistan or Iraq who showed two patterns distinctly different from subjects who were not suffering from PTSD. The research was presented last week in Italy at the meetings of the World Psychiatric Association....
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News: Awards for stories about mental illness
The Association of Health Care Journalists announced five of its annual awards will go to reporters who have written about mental illness. They are: •Mary Carmichael of Newsweek for a story detaiiling how bi-polar disorder dominates the life of one youngster and his parents. •Randy Dotinga, of Voice of San Diego, for a story about the bridge in San Diego which has been used by people intending suicide since 1973. •Sharon Salyer and Alejandro Dominguez, of the Daily Herald in...
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News: Vet groups say "no" to Obama plan
"Betrayal," "dead on arrival," and "unacceptable" are just a few of the objections to Pres. Barack Obama's proposal to shift financing of service injuries from the Veterans' Adminsitration (VA) to private insurers. This proposal, which senior members of congress have widely criticized, includes treatment for service related injuries such as Traumatic Brain Injury, PTSD, anxiety disorders, depression. It also seems incongruent with the testimony of Sec. Erik K. Shinseki at hearings last week about extensive mental health needs and the...
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News: Study of trauma, PTSD, and suicide
Not all assaultive trauma results in PTSD, but when it does, research indicates, there are greater risks for suicide. Results (n=1698) of a study of youth who were enrolled in a study when they entered first grade 15 years earlier indicated females made more suicide attempts than males. The youth came from Baltimore and the sample was nearly half male and 71 percent African-American. Suicide ranks as the third leading cause of death for people 15 to 24 years old,...
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News: Trauma with Australia's fires
Anxiety Insights reports that the Australian Psychological Society alerted clinicians and survivors of Australia's fires to watch for signs of trauma including PTSD....
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News: Underreporting PTSD unfounded
A report from the Veteran's Administration Office of Inspector General concluded that therapists at a Texas facility did not stop diagnosing PTSD after an email from a staff psychologist suggesting cost and time saving modifications. The report was requested by a congressional committee after the psychologist's email was made public. Diagnosis has a direct impact on eligibility for benefits, and PTSD has a higher compensation than adjustment disorder. The investigation also confirmed that aftercare groups which had been meeting...
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News: PTSD doesn't earn Purple Heart, disability
The Pentagon has decided that PTSD is not worthy of a Purple Heart, saying it was not intentionally caused by an "outside force or agent." According to Stars and Stripes, which reported some of the story in May, a military spokesperson explained that the Purple Heart has never been awarded for mental disorders or psychological conditions resulting from witnessing or experiencing traumatic combat events (e.g., combat stress reaction, shell-shock, combat stress fatigue, acute stress disorder, or PTSD). The Purple...
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News: Book details military mental health crisis
Aaron Glantz, author of the The War Comes Home: Washington's Battle against America's Veterans, discussed the military mental health crisis, now a signature of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. During a radio conversation with Lenny Lopate, Glantz said failures to address PTSD, suicides, long waits, and a shortage of professional help all reside within a military system which has historically overlooked mental health concerns. This is his third book about Iraq, and it adds to growing alarm, also apparent...
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Film: "Another Kind of VALOR"

News: General talks about PTSD and stigma
On the eve of Veterans Day, Army Maj. Gen. David Blackledge is reminding the country that soldiers suffering from war-related trauma can benefit from treatment. Blackledge received psychiatric counseling for the symptoms of PTSD while recovering from combat injuries he received in Iraq....
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News: House passes veteran's mental health bill
A voice vote in the House approved a compromise for the "Veteran's Mental Health Bill" calling for improvements in treatment and research for PTSD, substance abuse disorders and for expanding the time when military families may seek mental health services. For updates on S. 2162, click here....
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From Our Readers: Michelle D. Sherman writes:
Many Americans are joining in the important and much-deserved recognition and celebration of our troops upon homecoming from war. Most people know someone who has been deployed in support of the Global War on Terrorism...a relative, friend, neighbor, or co-worker. We are bombarded by images and stories of the war in the media, and the internet and advances in communication allow for almost instant connection with people and events half way around the world. The Global War on Terrorism is...
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News: GAO scolds DoD on mental health assessments
In a report released this week, the Government Accounting Office notes delays in assessing the post-deployment mental health needs of soldiers.Although DOD concurred with the recommendation included in the 2007 report, as of June 2008, the department had not implemented the recommendation. As a result, DOD's quality assurance program cannot provide decision makers with reasonable assurance that service members complete PDHRA. Also see AirForce Times Report: DoD cannot ensure troops get checkups...
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News: Helping kids who witness violence
Children who witness violence at home, or in their community or school, are at risk for PTSD. The San Francisco Chronicle reports a bill is now on the desk of California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that would provide mental health services to these youngsters. Some consider this the first step in acknowledging this as a public health crisis....
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News: Recognizing a dual diagnosis
National Public Radio reporter Farai Chideya explored difficulties people have recognizing co-occurring substance abuse and a psychiatric disorders, and then of finding appropriate treatment that does not ignore one component of this tricky but common condition. In a 10-minute interview, she spoke with a consumer, now in recovery, who has become a peer counselor in a Los Angeles program, and Dr. Robert Drake, a psychiatrist at Dartmouth Medical School....
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News: Responding to responders: who is responsible?
The federal government's responsibility for meeting health care problems resulting from 9.11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City were addressed in hearings held yesterday. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, (D-NY) was among the witnesses to testify about the nation's responsibility, not just New York's, in meeting the physical and mental health needs of responders. Uncertain federal funding has compromised treatment options, including special programs set up for firefighters and police. Maloney lambasted the Bush administration for discharging Dr....
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News: Hotline helps
In the first year of operation, the veterans' suicide hotline received a total of 55,000 calls from returning soldiers or their relatives. Rep. Harry Mitchell (AR) said the 22,000 calls from vets alone indicated the Veterans' Admnistreation had to do more yet to meet the crisis in mental health which has resulted in a jump in suicide. It's been estimated that one in five vets are returning from Iraq or Afghanistan with PTSD, and the hotline was installed last year...
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News: Changes at SAMHSA
Terry Cline, PhD, is leaving the helm of SAMHSA for Iraq where he will coordinate American efforts to rebuild a health system. His temporary replacement, Rear Admiral Eric Broderick, D.D.S., a dentist, is an expert in oral health, and the Indian Health Service. With a budget of $3.3 billion, SAMHSA is responsible for " improving the accountability, capacity and effectiveness of the nation's delivery systems to prevent substance abuse, treat addiction and provide mental health services." In the past week,...
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News: VA suicide hotline a start
In a speech yesterday on the Senate floor, Washington's Senator Patty Murray applauded the opening of a suicide hotline (1-800-273-TALK) but called for better staffing and programs to meet alarming rates of suicide and PTSD. A recording of her address is available here....
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News: Puppies help vets with PTSD
Inmates at the women's prison in Bedford Hills, New York, have been training dogs to serve as companions for people with PTSD. In a video from the New York Times, one recent combat explained how, afterwaking up from a nightmare, his serene dog is a reminder it was a dream and not an actual battle. Most of the pets are likely to go to veterans and some of the inmates training the dogs are themselves suffering from PTSD....
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News: Judge dismisses VA case
A federal judge in San Francisco dismissed a case charging that the VA had systematically shown disregard in treating veterans. Judge Samuel Conti acknowledged delays in processing or treating vets, but returned the problem to congressional oversight. This ended the non-jury trial brought by veteran groups. Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) issued a statement saying the Veterans' Affairs Committee will revisit the VA delivery system....
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News: Chantix again: VA experiments with vets
According to documents obtained by the Washington Times, the Veterans Administration (VA) attempted to enroll 2000 vets with PTSD into a study about smoking cessation using Chantix. Despite well known risks, and the FDA's warning about suicidal thoughts, the study continued. Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) demanded the study be "immediately suspended."...
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News: Senate probes VA on PTSD
The Veterans Administration defended itself against Sen. Daniel Akaka's accusations of “systemic indifference to invisible wounds” in its handling of disability claims for PTSD. During Senate committee hearings, Dr. Norma Perez, Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, was persistently questioned about her email recommending staff “refrain from giving a diagnosis of PTSD straight out.” The VA is still processing 390,000 disability claims for injuries with a price tag estimated at $59 billion a year for the next 25 years. PTSD...
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Track Legislation: H.R. 4053
Rep. Shelley Berkeley (D-NV) introduced the Mental Health Improvements Act of 2007 on Oct. 31, 2007, “To improve the treatment and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders, and for other purposes.”
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Track Legislation: S. 2162
Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hi) introduced the Veterans’ Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 on October 14, 2007: "To improve the treatment and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders, and for other purposes."
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News: Senate bill expands treatment for vets
A Senate bill (S. 2162) to plug holes for vets with substance abuse disorders and PTSD was passed Tuesday by unanimous consent in the Senate. Problems resulting from the Iraq war have increased for soldiers and their families due to longer and multiple deployments, and insufficient treatment staff. Roughly 1,000 vets a month now attempt suicide. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), chairman of the Senate Committee on Veteran Affairs, said, “For too many veterans, returning home from battle will not...
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News: PTSD cases jump
Rates of diagnosed PTSD continue to jump, growing 50 percent over last year, according to new reports issued by the Army. The highest number of cases come from the Marines, and the incidence increases with the length and number of deployments....
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News: APA panel: Liaison psychiatry at Walter Reed Hospital
Dr. Harold J. Wain discusses treating one soldier who was flown to Walter Reed Hospital with half her scull resting on her abdomen and another who picked up his severed arm so it could be reattached. These are two of 3,500 combat medical emergencies airlifted to the hospital as a result of the war in Iraq. Wain heads the liaison psychiatry service and he outlined procedures at the American Psychiatric Association for automatically placing psychiatrists on the treatment team prior...
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News: Military sends mixed messages
Calling PTSD the “unseen wounds” of war, Sec. of Defense Robert Gates is urging soldiers to get help “to remove the stigma.” Yet in practice, there are people like Sgt. Scott Metcalf, Minnesota National Guard, whose doctors say he has PTSD, but “the Army officially says he doesn't.” NPR reports on his 14-month hospitalized struggle, and the eventual disability rating of anxiety disorder, which carries a lesser benefit....
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Consider This: New York City steps up
New York City opens help for 9/11 victims still struggling with mental health or substance use disorders.
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News: Trial hears of veteran suicides
On the opening day of a non-jury trial in San Francisco, U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti heard about backlogs, delays, and 18 suicides a day despite staff increases in VA hospitals. A class-action suit, brought by two advocacy organizations, asks for improved treatment for mental health care and not for a financial settlement. The trial follows last week’s report from the Rand Corporation"Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery" noting a serious...
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News: Third House hearing on PTSD
The House Committee on Veteran Affairs held its third hearing on PTSD to determine the adequacy of the Defense Department's measures to help the one in five soldiers affected by combat stress. Dr. Charles W. Hoge, director of psychiatry at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, explained how the military conducted post-deployment assessments, noting that signs of stress often take two-three months to appear. He discussed the awareness of the association between concussions on the battlefield and PTSD. A webcast...
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Announcements: Award winning stories
Three stories reporting about the impact of mental illness on family relationships, and the neglect of patient care leading to a federal investigation were among those recognized for excellent journalism at the 10th annual Health Care Journalism held in Washington, D.C., March 27-30. The stories, reporters and categories: Large newspapers: Alan Judd and Andy Miller's 10-part series about the suspicious deaths of 115 people in Georgia’s psychiatric hospitals between 2002-2006 led to an investigation by the Justice Department. A Hidden...
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News: Genes plus environment influence PTSD
A study (n= 900) published in the March 19th issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) looks at the interaction of genes, stress and child abuse as risk factor for adult PTSD. The study was conducted in urban clinics and nearly all participants were African-American....
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News: PTSD disability hearings
Testimony from the Senate hearings about disability compensation with an emphasis on PTSD is now available. One finding about the Veterans' Administration's benefits system for "service-disabled veterans with a mental primary disability" confirms that: "overall health percentiles and overall life satisfaction percentiles are far below those with physical primary disabilities at the same rating level. Their earnings in general are well below those with physical primary disabilities. The data clearly indicate that their life experience is less satisfying than that...
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News: Backlog in vet claims persists
A Veterans' Affairs house panel heard experts say again that the system for addressing benefit claims is dysfunctional. The volume of claims -- 838,000 pending for 2007 -- and the delay in addressing them, which takes nearly six months, requires immediate attention for chronic conditions including mental disorders such as depression or PTSD. The hearings were held following a GAO report released earlier in the week. The President's 2009 budget proposal calls for hiring another 2,600 people to process claims....
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News: Vets sue feds for treatment
With increasing rates of suicide, and long waiting times for mental health treatment, a law suit asks the courts to force government action. The San Francisco Chronicle reports on a class action lawsuit brought by Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth challenging the administration’s claim that “veterans have no legal right to specific types of medical care.”...
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News: Price tags for care
Americans spent $56 billion for treating mental disorders (including depression) in 2005, making it the fourth most costly of the nation’s medical expenses. When traumatic disorders are added – PTSD, anxiety or panic attacks—it brings the total to $128 billion. The full report is available online at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality....
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News: Soldier called AWOL at VA hospital
A soldier was arrested at a Vetarans Affairs hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, where he was under observation for a weekend before he was scheduled for re-deployment to Iraq. Spc. Justin Faulkner, who was receiving psychiatric care and medications, re-enlisted for a $20,000 bonus but his symptoms worsened as his second redeployment date grew near. After spending one night in jail, he was allowed to return to Fort Campbell where the Associated Press reports he is being treated for PTSD. Desertions...
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News: Telemedicine after Katrina
Professor Ronald Kessler included telemedicine as one option for New Orleans two years after Katrina left the devastated city short of psychiatric services. Kessler, co-author of a recent study published in Psychiatric Services, discussed a range of persistent symptoms -- PTSD, depression, and suicidal thoughts -- plaguing people who are trying to rebuild their lives. Kessler's nine-minute interview with NPR can be heard on their site....
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News: Soldiers need follow-up
A survey of 88,235 soldiers returning from Iraq indicates that psychiatric symptoms, including depression, PTSD , and alcohol abuse, can take months to become apparent. The study, the first of its kind from the Walter Reed Military Institute, aimed to evaluate the impact of two screenings on detection and treatment. The first was soon after return; the second three to six months later. In many instances, soldiers had already left service, or were beyond the six month window for military...
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Consider This: . . .from the APHA, Nov. 5-7
by Phyllis Vine
The American Public Health Association annual meeting in Washington, DC, has a number of events discussing a range of issues from Monday's session on empowering consumers in mental health treatments to disaster preparedness, school based reforms. Read summaries of selected sessions, including Dr. Ron Manderscheid's presentation about PTSD and returning vets.


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News: Vet recovery coordinators: are 10 nurses enough?
The Veterans Administration announced it had reached an agreement with the Department of Defense to hire "federal recovery coordinators" to assist soldiers needing a continuum of care. This was one of the top recommendations from the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors also called the Dole-Shalala Commission. But the job posted on the VA site (Oct. 31) specified openings for “up to 10 Nurses.” With the injured running into the tens of thousands, is this enough?...
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Commentary: Complex PTSD
by Julian Ford, Ph.D.

Stories about PTSD have become a daily occurrence as a result of conditions of combat in war zones. Now Complex PTSD -- resulting from early life trauma -- is being recognized for its profound effects leading to problems with emotional and physical growth. Noted expert Dr. Julian Ford discusses some of the earmarks of Complex PTSD, how it differs from PTSD, and why clinicians are taking note.
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News: Climate change affects mental health
The impact of climate change for people with mental illness was part of the testimony the Bush administration redacted from the Dr. Julie Gerberding’s prepared remarks at last week’s hearing before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Gerberding is director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Refuting accusations circulating widely that redacting seven of 12 pages was actually censorship, Dr. John Marburger, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy,said Gerberding’s testimony...
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Consider This: Meeting the crisis in veteran health
Rates of combat-related PTSD, anxiety disorders and depression are climbing off the charts for veterans and their families. But will competing blue-panel commissions slow progress in closing the gaps in the veteran health crisis?
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News: Anticipating disaster -- school preparedness
RAND, a nonprofit research organization, released a report saying schools should create programs to anticipate students needs after a hurricane, shooting or earthquake. An assessment of 196,000 students in grades K-12 displaced by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, in 2005, indicated that even where emergency responses were adequate, six months later many programs had disappeared leaving PTSD, chronic stress, anxiety or depression untreated. Lisa H. Jaycox, study director, said schools must follow-up “for the months and years afterward when lingering mental...
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News: Vets commisssion findings
After two years of study, the congressionally mandated Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission issued its Report. Among the recommendations was updating the schedule for rating disabilities (VASRD). Currently it groups 16 major diagnostic categories from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual into a single system. The commission specifically called for updating criteria for PTSD....
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News: Strengthening wounded warrior bill
Last minute changes to the Defense Authorization Bill include halting a Pentagon practice of discharging soldiers by claiming they had pre-existing mental health problems. About 10 soldiers a day were booted this way, and they lost their medical benefits as a result. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-Mo) told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he doubted pre-existing “personality disorders” afflicted 22,500 soldiers, and he worked with Sen. Barack Obama (D-ILL) to insert corrections to alter this practice. Another recent change came...
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News: Homeric legends help vets
Veterans Administration psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Shay has won a MacArthur genius award for his work with returning soldiers in a Boston outpatient clinic. Initially treating Vietnam vets, and now those from Iraq, Shay noticed similarities to struggles in Homer's Iliad and The Odyssey. Soon these classic tales became a staple in his work, and soldiers appreciated "that they're part of a long historical context — that they are not personally deficient for having become injured in war." At one point...
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Commentary: Disaster Mental Health
by Anthony T. Ng, MD
In "Disaster Mental Health," Dr. Anthony T. Ng draws on his extensive experience to discuss challenges psychiatrists face when helping individuals and communities respond to natural or man-made disasters. Dr. Ng is the former chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on Psychiatric Dimensions of Disasters.

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News: Disaster preparedness protects
A study of rescue workers after the 9.11 attacks on New York's World Trade Center shows the lowest rates of PTSD (6.2 percent) came from police who had been trained for the tasks they performed. According to a study in the American Journal of Psychiatry, volunteers and other workers (sanitation, construction, engineering) reported rates more than three times as high (21.2 percent). The number of hours worked and the length of shifts also influenced the trauma each experienced....
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News: Study of Vietnam-era PTSD
Anxiety Insights reports how a controversy over the prevalence of PTSD in Vietnam soldiers sheds light on how disorders are counted. But it does not diminish the fact that, "The more soldiers are exposed to the horrors of war, the more likely they are to suffer from posttraumatic stress." According to a study in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, nearly one soldier in five experienced PTSD from that combat. The study does not include service in Iraq or Afghanistan....
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News: Two years later: problems abound
Coming up on the second anniversary of Katrina, USA Today ran a four-part story on persistent mental health issues for kids. Some problems appear to be a direct consequence of the trauma of the hurricane, others due to the limbo in which people have been living since....
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News: Anticipating combat needs of soldiers
Psychiatry Weekly concludes a two-part series with Naval Captain Robert A. Alonso about improvements in services addressing combat trauma and frequent redeployments. Initiatives include embedding mental health practitioners on the front lines, special programs for returning soldiers, training commanding officers, and using natural support systems made up of other soldiers. The Providence Journal reports Rep. Patrick Kennedy's (D-RI) calls for the Psychological Kevlar Act to anticipate PTSD and provide preventive training. The Washington Post reports the army is initiating a...
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News: Traumatized children use brain differently
A study using functional magnetic resonance imaging looked at the brains of 30 children, and concluded that blood flow and oxygenation differed for those with PTSD symptoms (n=16) compared to non-traumatized children (n=14). "Now we can see some real neurological reasons for the impulsivity, agitation, hyper-vigilance and avoidance behaviors that children with untreated PTSD often exhibit," said the study's author, Dr. Victor Carrion, Stanford School of Medicine....
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News: Vets sue VA
Frustrating delays in receiving medical care and benefits led two veteran groups to file a class-action suit against the Veterans Administration in federal court today. The 73-page complaint (pdf download) notes there are 600,000 backlogged claims, and that the denial of claims has increased by 100 percent in the past two years. It also notes that of the "1400 VA hospitals and clinics, only twenty-seven have inpatient PTSD programs."...
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News: Marines suffering PTSD
Screening for PTSD should be required for all Marines involved in misconduct leading to discharge, Naval officers told the Marine Corps Times. Soldiers with a less than honorable discharge risk losing health benefits....
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News: Vietnam era PTSD still hurting families
Daily Telegraph, June 19, 2007 From Boston to Australia come reports about PTSD tracking families. Research at Queensland University, Au., is exploring the legacy of Vietnam leading to parental stress which influences children. "Deaths by suicide amongst Vietnam veteran's children is three times higher than the average," reports the president of the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia. Sunday's Boston Globe ran the story of a son following his father's footsteps, with duty and trauma from Iraq similar to his father's...
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News: FDA stops obesity drug
Citing safety factors, the FDA rejected a drug called Zimulti used to fight hunger. Side effects included risk factors for depression, phobias, PTSD and suicidal thoughts....
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Commentary: When the Scars of Battle Haven't Healed: Reflections on Memorial Day
by Sol Wachtler
Memorial Day should be a time of reflection, remembrance, and gratitude to those members of our armed forces who served and died for our country. My Memorial Day reflection went back to 1994 when I was in a mental health prison unit in Rochester, Minnesota.
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News: Advocates cheer Colorado’s governor
Rocky Mountain News, May 31, 2007 Colorado’s Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law four bills expanding mental health services helping children and older Americans, including those suffering from substance abuse disorders, anorexia and PTSD. They strengthen programs allowing the elderly to remain in their homes to receive needed services, and increase the numbers of disorders included under mental illnesses....
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News: Army's message about PTSD still wanting
National Public Radio, May 24, 2007 Fort Carson says it has developed a training program to help commanding officers better serve soldiers with PTSD, but experts say it falls short of accepted psychiatric wisdom. "The most significant changes appeared to be rhetorical,” says NPR’s Daniel Zwerdling.Destructive symptoms often received punishment, not treatment, and an independent panel of experts said messages about soldiers who seek help were ambiguous....
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News: Of vets and vetoes: a failed health policy
The News and Observer, May 11, 2007 In the on-going disgrace about health care for wounded military, the McClatchey Newspapers charge that Veterans Affairs has exaggerated its accomplishments, “inflating its achievements in ways that make it appear more successful than it is.” Meanwhile, the Institute of Medicine has issued "PTSD Compensation and Military Service," showing inconsistent patterns of disability compensations for PTSD. Plugging some of the holes for PTSD treatment would be provided immediately with $600 million for brain injury...
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Links: Children and Youth
These organizations explicitly address children's concerns as they relate to diagnosis, education, statistical prevalence, and medication. Updated 10.03.07
Full Story | Topics: ADHD, bipolar disorder, children, depression, medication, PTSD, students, therapies | Comments (0)

Links: Find Help
New visitors will find useful resources for narrowing a search or for general information. Updated 11.02.07.
Full Story | Topics: advocacy, children, depression, DSM-V, family, FDA, Medicaid, Medicare, medication, PTSD | Comments (0)

News: Post Katrina PTSD studied
Anxiety Insights, April 28, 2007 A study (N=747) selecting people in the emergency room of a New Orleans public hospital found respondents 10 times more likely to have PTSD than the general population. Criteria for inclusion were people older than 18, and those who lived in New Orleans at the time of the Hurricane....
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News: Foster care kids in California at risk
San Francisco Chronicle, April 8, 2007 With rates of PTSD higher than those for war vets, the California system of foster care has come under scrutiny for the failure to implement mental health treatment for the 30,000 children in its care....
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News: Issue of scholary journal devoted to PTSD
Articles in the entire issue of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders include discussions of: the historical understanding of trauma; criteria for determining prevalence; studies of Vietnam vets; proposals to the DSM V for diagnosis and definitions; procedures for assessment and treatment....
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News: Children with losses from 9.11
A study published in the April issue of Biological Psychiatry shows the increased incidence of anxiety disorders and PTSD among children who lost a parent in 9.11. Youngsters were followed at six month intervals, some starting four months after 9.11, and the group of bereaved children (n=45) showed twice the rates of generalized anxiety and separation anxiety than non-bereaved children (n=34)....
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News: Anxiety disorders – underreported in primary care
A study of 15 primary care settings found nearly 20 percent of the patients (n=965) reporting symptoms of anxiety disorders. Four out of ten were untreated. The findings were based on a new, seven item questionnaire (GAD-7) designed to detect four disorders: PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder....
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Commentary: Trauma and PTSD in Children
by Julian Ford
Not all children who experience a traumatic event will develop a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Those who do, however, will need help learning how to manage the stress and its symptoms. Dr. Julian Ford discusses how parents and teachers can become aware of when youngsters need help.
Full Story | Topics: children, education, PTSD | Comments (1)