VA adds $2 million for PTSD center

[unhappycamper]

VA adds $2 million for PTSD center
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Friday May 2, 2008 14:22:34 EDT

After a series of congressional hearings showed that gaps remain in mental health care for veterans, the Veterans Affairs Department announced Friday it is allocating an additional $2 million to the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

A recent Rand Corp. study found that more than 300,000 combat veterans suffer from PTSD or major depression — a number that mirrors the Defense Department’s own studies.

But Rand found that only 50 percent of them receive care — and of those, only half received “minimally adequate” care — or care proven to be effective in treating PTSD.

The Defense Department, as well as Rand, have also found that significant issues remain in combating stigma surrounding PTSD. Many troops still think that their leaders will find them weak if they seek care, that a mental health issue could ruin their careers, that they’ll be prescribed anti-depressants with harmful side effects or that they’ll be denied security clearances.

The Institutes of Medicine has found insufficient research in determining which therapies and medications work best for PTSD. Research for medications has been conducted only by the pharmaceutical industry, raising the possibility of biased results, and the Defense Department and VA often rely on group therapy, which has not been proven effective for PTSD.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/military_ptsd_funding_050208w/