Deployment Psychology Blog

Staff Perspective: Student Veterans and the “8 Keys to Veterans’ Success on Campus”

By Diana Sermanian  on 27.08.2014 9:43 am

The “8 Keys to Veterans’ Success on Campus” was established in 2013 as a collaborative effort between the Obama Administration and the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Education.  Included in the decision making of these steps were representatives of government agencies, non-profit groups, Veteran organizations, as well as individual Veterans, who had obtained college degrees.  The purpose of these strategies was to guide colleges and universities in ways to support and serve our student Veterans.  Since 2013, there have been hundreds of institutions who have committed to implementing these recommended strategies.

By the Numbers - 25 August 2014

By Shirl Kennedy  on 25.08.2014 11:09 am

22%
The percentage of 2,230 soldiers receiving a PTSD diagnosis within 90 days of return from Afghanistan who had only one mental health care visit, according to a recent study published in the journal Psychiatric Services -- PTSD Treatment for Soldiers After Combat Deployment: Low Utilization of Mental Health Care and Reasons for Dropout. The researchers further report that 41% of these 2,230 soldiers "received minimally adequate care (eight or more encounters in 12 months)."

Research Update: 21 August 2014

By Shirl Kennedy  on 21.08.2014 12:25 pm

The CDP's weekly research update contains the latest news, journal articles and useful links from around the web. Some of this week's topics include:

  • Combat & Operational Stress Research Quarterly -- Summer 2014
  • The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in US combat soldiers: a head-to-head comparison of DSM-5 versus DSM-IV-TR symptom criteria with the PTSD checklist.
  • American Journal of Public Health: VA Health Equity Supplement

Staff Perspective: Technology and Relationships - Finding the Balance in an Electronic Life

By Regina Shillinglaw  on 20.08.2014 1:51 pm

More and more people are becoming aware of the impact of smartphones, tablets, and easy Internet access on our ability to think, maintain relationships, and remain productive.  It has even been proposed that overuse of technological media can change our brains structurally in ways that will, over time, rob us of the ability to think deeply and utilize our cognitive horsepower!  This is a controversial topic, and undoubtedly people will have varying opinions, but no one can argue that various forms of technology are changing how we interact with each other. So, how does this apply to mental health, and the military specifically?  Well, we know that healthy relationships contribute to good mental health, and conversely, troubled relationships create risk for mental health problems.  Perhaps some of today’s relationship woes and mental health problems are a by-product of our increasing use of technological gadgets.
To learn more about this possibility in a military context, I interviewed Lt. Col. Kirk Rowe, an Air Force neuropsychologist at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. 

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