Treating Unresolved Trauma in the Deployed Environment

For many, the phrase “deployment trauma” brings to mind images of combat: improvised explosive devices, taking small arms fire, or traumatic amputations and brain injuries. Over the last 10 years, direct exposure to combat during deployments has decreased. Nonetheless, treating trauma in the deployed environment remains an ever present challenge for military mental health practitioners. This blog will discuss why even objectively safe deployments trigger trauma and some questions to ask when considering whether to process trauma in the deployed environment.

Mental Health Takeaways from the New VA/DoD Pregnancy Clinical Practice Guideline

Pregnancy can impact all aspects of a mother’s well-being. While it’s an exciting time for many women, it’s also an emotional time. It can bring on mood changes from physical stresses, fatigue, changes in metabolism and hormones, as well as worries, such as about the costs and new responsibilities that come with being a parent. For service women, there are unique military-related concerns such as caring for the new baby if one or both parents gets deployed and meeting physical readiness standards after the baby is born.

Global Behavioral Health Engagement: Building Partnerships and Enhancing Readiness

Global Behavioral Health Engagement

We generally think of the Department of Defense (DoD) as a government agency that provides military forces to protect and defend the security of our country, and many of us don’t think much of the connection between global health and DoD. In fact, DoD has a long standing history of participation in many global health engagement initiatives to support global stability and security via enhancing the health system capabilities of partner nations; however, few of these initiatives focus on behavioral health.

Top 10 Things to Know About inTransition

You’ve likely heard of inTransition, the program that will help service members and veterans find mental health providers, but you may have questions about who’s eligible, when someone can join, and what services are provided. Read these fast facts to learn more. 

Helping Your Patients Understand the Types of Military Mental Health Providers

The good news for service members seeking mental health care in the Military Health System is there are many options for care. But it can be difficult to understand the many types of mental health care providers and the kinds of services they offer. Here is a list of common types of providers found in military treatment facilities. Providers can use this overview with service member and veteran patients, particularly new patients, to help them find the right provider for their specific needs.

Psychologist