Alternative healing for US veterans and their families

Reported Cases Of PTSD In Soldiers Up 50% In 2007, According To Defense Officials

The number of U.S. service members diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder increased by nearly 50% from 2006 to 2007, according to Pentagon data released on Tuesday, the Washington Post reports. Nearly 40,000 soldiers who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan from 2003 to 2007 have been diagnosed by the military as having PTSD (Scott Tyson, Washington Post, 5/28). In 2007, nearly 14,000 cases of PTSD were diagnosed by military officials, compared with more than 9,500 new cases in 2006 and 1,632 in 2003, Army data show (Jelinek, AP/New York Times, 5/28).

According to data from the Office of the Army Surgeon General, a total of 28,365 Army soldiers have been diagnosed with PTSD, including more than 10,000 in 2007 (Washington Post, 5/28). In 2006, more than 6,800 new cases of PTSD among Army soldiers were reported (Jelinek, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 5/28). There are a total of 5,581 PTSD cases among Marine Corps service members, including 2,114 in 2007 (Washington Post, 5/28). In 2006, 1,366 new cases of PTSD among Marines were diagnosed (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 5/28). Cases of PTSD among Air Force and Navy soldiers did not exceed 1,000 in 2007.

According to Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, up to 30% of deployed soldiers experience PTSD symptoms (Washington Post, 5/28). This is the first time Department of Defense officials have released PTSD data on soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan. Officials previously have said that up to 20% of soldiers showed symptoms of mental health problems. Schoomaker attributed the surge in reported cases to the 2004 launch of an electronic record system by officials, increased knowledge about PTSD, increased violence in Iraq and Afghanistan, an increase in the number of deployed troops, increased exposure of troops to combat, and longer lengths of and multiple deployments (AP/New York Times, 5/28).

Military officials said that the numbers represent a fraction of service members who have PTSD because the data do not include those diagnosed by Department of Veterans Affairs workers or civilian caregivers, and those who do not seek care, according to the Post (Washington Post, 5/28). According to the AP/San Francisco Chronicle, "Officials have estimated that roughly 50% of troops with mental health problems don't get treatment because they're embarrassed or fear it will hurt their careers" (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 5/28). Schoomaker said, "We're in our infancy right now of fully knowing what the extent of this is" (Washington Post, 5/28).

Broadcast Coverage

NPR's "Talk of the Nation" on Tuesday included a discussion with Sue Halpern, who wrote about an immersion therapy video game developed by psychologist Albert "Skip" Rizzo that simulates the sights, sounds and smells of combat and allows a patient to re-enter a traumatic situation gradually. The game, called "Virtual Iraq," is intended for psychologists treating veterans struggling with PTSD (Conan, "Talk of the Nation," NPR, 5/27).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

For Veterans and Families

Thank you for visiting Honor-a-Veteran.org. We offer a directory of practitioners who provide critical mind/body services to U.S. troops and their family members. If you are a member of a military family, you are in the right place. Honor a Veteran (HaV) focuses on the mind/body needs of military personnel and their families. We are offering a range of mind/body services in order to address a variety of needs for the individuals seeking services.

Our definition of “family” is quite broad and includes but is not limited to the following: spouses, children, parents, siblings, extended family members, and unmarried partners of members of the armed forces of the United States. We are offering our services to anyone who is or has been affected directly or indirectly (through a relationship with someone in the military) by the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We believe that most of those affected by these conflicts would not need the level of mind/body services they do now if not for the unusual and extreme circumstances within which they find themselves. Furthermore, many of those seeking services may not be familiar with many of the forms of mind/body therapy available today. Therefore, we recommend that practitioners describe their services in some detail for the benefit of those seeking assistance from them.

While the standard within the mind/body community is to meet with the client in the practitioner’s office, we recognize that this may not be feasible for some individuals seeking services from HaV. We encourage the use of telephone support in those situations where the individual is unable to meet in person with the practitioner. We understand that therapists and counselors will need to rely on their professional judgment to determine when such contact may be insufficient to meet the individual’s mind/body needs.

Expectations & Terms of Service

Expectations

Practitioners listed in our directory have generously agreed to provide at least one session of meaningful mind/body healing at no charge to you. A practitioner may work with one individual or you may see a series of visitors (clients). This depends will be at the discretion of the practitioner. Practitioners not taking new clients will have their "availability status" set to "full" (from "available") while they are working with an individual or family. This will prevent them from receiving requests from individuals if their time is filled.

The service practitioners provide will be conducted in their own office or on the phone. At this time we are not including internet support as part of our services.

Terms of Service

In order to receive free mind/body services, you, the visitor/client are responsible for contacting a practitioner in our directory. You may contact as many practitioners as you wish to find one you "click" with. Practitioners have graciously donated their time and expertise to assist you - please do not abuse them by booking multiple sessions with more than one practitioner. If a practitioner chooses to continue with you pro bono, that is his/her choice.

If you are suffering from a mental illness that exceeds the scope of practice, education, or experience of the mind/body practitioner with whom you have contracted for services, the mind/body practitioner may refer you to another competent practitioner or service.

Honor a Veteran specifically disclaims all warranties and liabilities regarding its directory members. Honor a Veteran does not prescreen or judge the efficacy of practitioners or their healing modalities. We expect practitioners to take all precautions to ensure that your relationship with them is a safe and successful one.

Many Veterans Of Wars In Iraq, Afghanistan Lack Access To Mental Health Treatment

Article Date: 13 Jun 2007

Soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan "are finding it more difficult" to receive mental health treatment because therapists say reimbursement rates for care are too low, the AP/Arizona Daily Star reports. According to the AP/Daily Star, about one-third of the 9.1 million people covered under the military health care system, called Tricare, seek mental health counseling in their first year after returning from war.

Wait lists for care "now extend for months to see a military doctor, and it can take weeks to find a private therapist" willing to treat members of the military, the AP/Daily Star reports. "The challenge appears great in rural areas, where many National Guard and Reserve troops and their families live," according to the AP/Daily Star.

A Defense Department mental health task force last month found that Tricare's psychological health benefit is "hindered by fragmented rules and policies, inadequate oversight and insufficient reimbursement." The Tricare reimbursement rate is tied to Medicare's, and the rate for mental health services was reduced by 6.4% this year as part of an adjustment of reimbursements for some specialties.

Under Tricare coverage plans, the amount paid to providers varies by plan, location, specialty and services performed. Psychologists who treat active-duty troops are paid 66% of what Tricare views as the customary rate. Active-duty troops can receive mental health care free of charge, while Guard and Reserve troops and their families often use Tricare Standard, a fee-for-service plan under which they pay an annual deductible of 20% of the amount Tricare pays the therapist. Tricare earlier this year found that about two out of three civilian psychiatrists in 20 states were willing to accept Tricare Standard patients, the lowest acceptance rate for any specialty.

Tricare spokesperson Austin Camacho said that since 2004 Tricare has made physician payments quicker to encourage more doctors to participate. Camacho added that reimbursement rates have been increased in Idaho, Alaska and other states to attract physicians to the Tricare program (AP/Arizona Daily Star, 6/11).

Congressional Action

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said that he supports legislation that would provide new compensation benefits and bonus incentives for military personnel, the Lincoln Journal Star reports. Nelson, chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, said that the military health care system has been overwhelmed by "too many patients, too few doctors and too few facilities." In addition, he said that long waiting periods for care, fewer options and burdensome travel requirements have further complicated the system. Nelson said that he will push for more resources, incentives to recruit and retain military personnel and better coordination to assure timely care, the Journal Star reports.