Tag Archives: mental health

Sea of Goodwill Series: The inTransition Program: Maintaining Continuity of Care through Transitions

Posted on by Devin

The transition to civilian life for service members can be complicated, and if they are also receiving mental health treatment, the challenges multiply. They can find themselves wondering, “How do I continue with my treatment? What support services are available as I transition? Who can I turn to in an emergency?”  The inTransition Program can help answer these and many other questions.

inTransition is a collaboration between the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to bridge the potential gaps in behavioral health support during transitional periods—gaps that can lead to service members’ disengagement from treatment or deterioration of their health status. The program provides a personal coach who will support the service member through the transitional period and help identify community resources.

Enrollment into the program can be initiated by the service member or through referral from a servicemember’s current provider or case manager. All it takes is one phone call to 1-800-424-7277.

Once servicemembers confirm their participation in the inTransition program, they are connected with a transition support coach, who provides one-on-one support by phone. Coaches help service members connect with their new provider and locate local community resources, support groups, crisis intervention services and other assistance in the servicemember’s new location. Coaches do not replace the functions of case managers, but rather facilitate the access to and utilization of health services.

Our goal is ensure servicemembers continue their care without interruption. Join us Aug. 19, 2010 from 2:30 – 3:00 p.m. (CDT) for free, web-based training on inTransition. To learn more about inTransition, or register for our August webinar, please visit www.health.mil/intransition.


This post was authored by Dr. Lolita O’Donnell.  Dr. Lolita O’Donnell is the Acting Director of the Clearinghouse, Outreach and Advocacy Directorate at the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (dcoe.health.mil).

New Horizons in Brain Injury Treatment

Posted on by Devin

According to MSNBC, military leadership estimates that as high as 20% of the troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq may have some form of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).  TBI symptoms can range from those of a mild concussion (such as headaches or blurred vision) to the very severe (seizures, change in personality, repeated nausea or vomiting, weakness in the body, confusion, and others).  While there is treatment available for some of the symptoms of TBI, there is no way to repair the actual damage done to the brain. 

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is currently working to change that.  DARPA is developing a new technology called REPAIR (Reorganization and Plasticity to Accelerate Injury Recovery.  This technology would aid veterans who suffer from TBI by repairing brain damage through the use of electrical implants on the surface of the brain.  The implants will use a science called “optogenics” to send out pulses of light that directly trigger individual neurons, repairing the neural pathways that are broken by TBI.

The project is in the early stages of clinical trials.  However, if researchers are successful, there could someday be new hope for affected veterans and their families.  For more on this research, check out the full article on WIRED.

Looking for resources now?  Find, rate and share TBI-related services and other programs by click here.

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Vets Prevail Video Highlights the Specter of Mental Health Issues

Posted on by Devin

Many veterans returning home from tours in Afghanistan and Iraq suffer from injuries we can’t see – post-traumatic stress, depression, and other mental issues that complicate their re-integration into civilian society.  For service members and civilians alike, these wounds can require a long time and significant resources to heal.

The scope of that challenge is brought to sobering life in this moving advocacy video from Vets Prevail which highlights both the size of the problem as well as the contributions that healthy veterans can make to their communities.  You owe it to yourself to take a couple of minutes, view the video, and share with your family and friends.

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May is Mental Health Month

Posted on by Chris

May is National Mental Health Month. This is a month for us to reflect on the impact and prevalence of mental health issues. It’s a month to speak openly and freely about issues which are common, but commonly stigmatized.

Which is why this month the Warrior Gateway will be posting a series of resources, stories, and other information related to mental health and the military community. Stay posted for more!

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Helping service members with the emotional cost of war

Posted on by Chris

M. David Rudd (dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Science and scientific director of the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah) has a good opinion piece in USA Today that discusses the tension between the ‘warrior identity’ built into our men and women in combat and the inevitable emotional baggage that comes along with killing and living in an atmosphere of frequent danger. As Rudd notes, there is a major perceived distinction between physical and mental injuries–while physical injuries are obvious and there is little stigma surrounding them, admitting to ‘mental wounds’ is often thought of as a sign of weakness–a weakness which conflicts with the ‘warrior identity.’

Rudd discusses the effect the stigma surrounding mental wounds on the recent increase in suicides among the military community, noting that the people often most in need are also those most reluctant to seek out help. Russ also suggests a number of possible solutions to the problem surrounding admitting and seeking help for their emotional baggage:

• Talk more frequently beforehand about optimal performance and resilience in combat, rather than post-trauma symptoms and mental illness afterward.

• Help soldiers construct a warrior identity that more clearly integrates the emotional consequences of killing.

• Encourage military leaders at the highest levels to talk openly about their own difficulty after combat experience, something that is already happening and is very effective at combating stigma.

Click here to read the full article.