Marina is one of four Veterans, with experiences from the Vietnam to Iraq wars, recorded in Visions of Warriors, a documentary film released on November 11, 2017 describing their journey and recovery with the use of an innovative approach The 90-minute film traces how these Veterans engage in The Veteran Photo Recovery Project (VPRP) and use photography to heal.
I like to be helpful. It’s one of the reasons I became a psychologist. You could say it’s my mission. Sometimes I get a phone call or an email from a distant relation, a friend, an acquaintance, or even a resourceful stranger who found my name on a website or blog. These people often have questions about psychotherapy.
Two female Veteran discuss the increased risk of suicide faced by female Veterans and Service members in this recent article, "It's Time to Address the Staggering Rate of Suicide Among Servicewomen and Female Vets." As suggested by the title, authors Kate Hendricks Thomas and Kyleanne Hunter look at the significant statistical increase in suicides among this population.
We all know the benefits of a good night’s sleep. Most of us feel better, physically and emotionally with some solid sleep the night before. A recent study suggests that rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep may be even more important than that. It may function as a protective factor, reducing fear-related activity in the brain. This reduction in fear may help prevent the development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
As a Deployment Behavioral Health Psychologist for the Center for Deployment Psychology and a faculty member in a pre-doctoral Air Force Psychology Internship Program, I have ample opportunity to teach about warning signs and risk factors for suicide. I also have had plenty of patients and oversight of interns’ patients with substance use disorders, in particular alcohol use disorders. So, it is of particular interest to me to understand more fully the relationship between alcohol use (and other substance use) and suicide attempts.