News and Links for Military Personnel and Families
Automated Phone-In Assessment for Soldiers and Families
A new automated phone-in assessment program is the latest effort by the military to reach out to soldiers and family members who might not otherwise seek help for post-traumatic stress or other psychological issues. The program is similar to an anonymous mental health screening effort begun online last year. About 40,000 troops or their family members — roughly 7 percent of them in Iraq — have participated.
The new efforts are extensions of counseling programs the military has implemented in recent years. Defense officials are hoping that the phone screening will attract National Guard and Reserve troops and families who are far from a military base and may not have easy access to in-person counseling or to the Internet.
Calls are conducted in English and Spanish and the service operates 24 hours a day. For more background information, refer to the MSNBC article: Troops, families can dial for mental health help.
Did You Know?
Out of every three US soldiers who returns from active duty in Iraq, one needs mental health treatment, this is according to a report published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association). The number of cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among soldiers returning from Iraq is much higher than those who came back from other conflicts, such as Afghanistan. Twice as many Iraq veterans sought mental health treatment than the Afghanistan veterans (in percentage terms). From the USA Today article: One Third Of Iraq Veterans With Mental Health Problems