Friday, June 29, 2012

ASSISTANCE DOGS 101: THE BASICS


Assistance Dog: This is the main or “umbrella” term that the different types of dogs  described below fall under. It is also important to remember not all types of assistance dogs (listed below) have access to public places or are protected under ADA laws. Assistance Dog is a generic term for a dog specifically trained to do more than one task to mitigate the effects of an individual's disability. The presence of a dog for protection, personal defense, or comfort does not qualify that dog as an assistance dog.  Assistance Dogs can be Service Dogs, Guide Dogs, Hearing dogs, or Seizure Response Dogs, etc.  However not all working dogs are consider Assistance Dogs, as explained below.


Service Dog:  A dog that works for individuals with disabilities other than blindness or deafness. They are trained to perform a wide variety of tasks including but not limited to; pulling a wheelchair, bracing, retrieving, alerting to a medical crisis, and providing assistance in a medical crisis. Service dogs can also facilitate hand/eye coordination and balance. Service Dogs (in most cases) have public access.

Ø  It is also very important to understand that no 2 service dogs are the same. While the “basic training” of service dogs remains standard, each and every Service Dog is specially trained to meet the exact needs of the client it will be partnered with. The training is very specialized can take up to 2 years depending on what tasks the dog will need to provide the veteran or client. This type of training is also a good way to distinguish good Service Dog agencies from the rest.

Ø  It is also very important that any agency providing a Service Dog to a veteran/client have Assistance Dog International Accreditation (ADI) accreditation, not just “membership.” This will also help you acquire your VA provided benefits for the upkeep of the dog and/or follow current DOD policy for having assistance Dogs on Military Installations. ADI is the ONLY internationally recognized organization that provides proper guidelines and standards for Assistance Dogs. In addition, this is the same organization that helped to write the ADA Laws and works hand in hand with the International Association of Guide Dogs (the equivalent for Guide Dog training). 


Hearing Dog:  Hearing Dogs learn to alert individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to basic sounds such as a smoke alarm, a ringing telephone, a crying baby or a doorbell. The dog is trained to alert the individual of a sound and then lead them to the sound.  For example, if the sound being alerted to is a smoke alarm, the dog then accompanies/escorts the owner out of the building automatically.


Guide Dog: A dog that has been specially trained to guide a blind or visually impaired person. Guide Dog tasks involve curb work, being sensitive to changes in elevation, guiding around clearance issues (pedestrians, overheads, etc.) and guiding a person safely around and through street traffic.


Seizure Response Dog: A dog  trained to (among other things) push life-alert buttons, help and/or comfort a person during a seizure and get help or retrieve the phone for the client. Although most reputable assistance dog agencies do not profess to train dogs to detect seizures, many Seizure Dogs have, after several years with a client, developed the ability to alert their owner of an oncoming seizure.


Skilled Companion Dogs: A dog trained to work with an individual with a disability under the guidance of a facilitator. A facilitator is typically a parent, spouse, or caregiver who handles and cares for the assistance dog and is responsible for the customized training needs of the dog. Though similar to a Service dog, Skilled Companion Dogs usually perform fewer tasks.  Many of these dogs were once in training programs to become Service or Guide dogs. Skilled Companion dogs work only in the home of the recipient and do not have public access.


Therapy or Social Dog: This type of dog does not fall under the “umbrella” of being an Assistance Dog. Social or Therapy dogs’ work is usually focused on providing a change to a person's emotional or psychological state. These dogs provide the wonderful service of bringing joy to people through activities such as visiting hospitals and retirement homes; however, they are not Assistance Dogs and require no specialized training.

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Public Access: The right of a person with a disability to be accompanied by his/her Assistance Dog in all public accommodations. Public access is granted to the person with the disability, not to the assistance dog. This is outlined in American with Disabilities Act law.
Assistance Dogs International - www.assistancedogsinternational.org

ADA Defines Public Access as: "The Americans with Disabilities Act guarantees a blind, deaf, or physically disabled person the legal right to be accompanied by a service animal in all areas open to the general public. Service animal (see note) means any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including but not limited to guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals with impaired hearing to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair, or fetching dropped items."
ADA Laws- www.doj.gov

Note: We are not promoting any one organization, we are simply providing the most accurate information & assist you.
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Please remember this in no way represents every type of working dog & only includes the most basic of explanations and definitions. My sincere hope is to educate the general population & federal agencies on all aspects of assistance animals. However, I think it is important that we start with the basics in an effort to move this forward correctly. I believe many problems stem from a general lack of understanding, causing terms to be used incorrectly or interchangeably, as well as contributing to the spread of misinformation on this valuable resource & benefit to our veteran and military populations.


WE CANNOT EXPECT TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE FOR THE BETTER WITHOUT TAKING THE INITIATIVE & ACTION TO EDUCATE!
~Christina M Roof

Happy 4th Birthday Post 9/11 GI Bill


In 4 years, 745,000 have used Post 9/11 GI Bill


By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jun 29, 2012 15:55:34 EDT

On the fourth anniversary of the Post-9/11 GI Bill becoming law, the senator most responsible for the program says he is proud of the outcome.
“Educated veterans not only have an easier transition and readjustment experience, but they boast higher income levels, which in the long run increase tax revenues,” Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., said in a statement.
“The Post-9/11 G.I. Bill is the best veterans’ educational program in history. It pays for tuition, books and a monthly stipend in order to give our veterans a first-class shot at the future,” he said.
Webb, who is not running for re-election this year, campaigned on a promise of creating a modern-day GI Bill that provided full tuition plus a living stipend. He made it the first bill he introduced after being sworn into office in 2008.
“We can all take pride in saying that we have made a proper investment in the future of those who, since 9/11, have given so much to this country,” Webb said.
More than 745,000 Iraq and Afghanistan-era combat veterans or their dependents have used the program since its launch, and an additional half-million have applied for benefits but have not yet started using them.
COMPLETE STORY HERE: http://militarytimes.com/news/2012/06/military-in-4-years-745000-people-have-used-gi-bill-071612w/

Study: 25% of War Deaths Medically Preventable - (Under perfect medical conditions)

Thoughts on this? 

By Patricia Kime - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Jun 28, 2012 16:04:10 EDT
A new study finds that nearly a quarter of the 4,596 combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2011 were “potentially survivable,” meaning that under ideal conditions — and with the right equipment or latest medical techniques — the troops may have had a fighting chance.
But the study also notes that 90 percent of the deaths occurred before the injured reached a medical facility: of the 4,090 troops who suffered mortal wounds on the battlefield, 1,391 died instantly and 2,699 succumbed before arriving at a treatment center.
Just 506 service members made it to a field hospital before dying of injuries — an indication that military researchers should work to improve field treatment capability, says trauma surgeon Col. Brian Eastridge with the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research.
“This study does not imply we are leaving our warriors on the battlefield languishing. ‘Potentially survivable’ implies there are potential improvements — areas we may look to where we could alter outcomes so they don’t die in the immediate phase,” Eastridge said.
Combat survivability is at an all-time high in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Ten percent of all injuries resulted in death, as opposed to Vietnam, where the fatality rate was 16.1 percent, or World War II, with a 19.1 percent fatality rate.
But there is more the military medical community can do to improve outcomes, Eastridge argues.
“There’s a tremendous amount of information we can gain and potentially improve clinical care if we know why casualties die on the battlefield,” he said.
Among the potential fields for more research is hemorrhage control: The study showed that uncontrolled blood loss was the leading cause of death in 90 percent of the potentially survivable battlefield cases and in 80 percent of those who died in a military treatment facility.
“Bleed-outs” — especially those caused by groin or neck wounds — torment medics, corpsmen and physicians who can do little to stanch blood loss caused by major arterial injuries.
Two devices, the Combat Ready Clamp and Abdominal Aortic Tourniquet, have been built to treat these injuries, but the Combat Ready Clamp, now being fielded, is primarily for treating single groin or pelvic injuries and is ineffective against wounds involving the genital region or the loss of both legs.

COMPLETE STORY HERE: Study: 25% of war deaths medically preventable - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Supreme Court strikes down Stolen Valor Act

By CHRIS CARROLL
Stars and Stripes
Published: June 28, 2012

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday tossed out a 2006 law making it a federal misdemeanor to lie about receiving a military service medal, but left the door open for Congress to try again with a more finely tuned law.
In a 6-3 ruling, the court said the Stolen Valor Act violated First Amendment free-speech protections, ruling in favor of Xavier Alvarez, a California man prosecuted for false claims in 2007 that he had received the Medal of Honor.
Alvarez, a former member of the Three Valleys Municipal Water District Board, speaking at his first meeting as a board member, said: “I’m a retired Marine of 25 years. I retired in the year 2001. Back in 1987, I was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. I got wounded many times by the same guy.”
His conviction was later thrown out by the federal Ninth Circuit Court, a decision the Supreme Court upheld Thursday. Under the invalidated law, the lie could have earned him a year in jail, while maximum sentences for lies about lesser medals were shorter.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan favored striking down the law. Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.
The law was too broad a limitation on speech and sought “to control and suppress all false statements on this one subject in almost limitless times and settings. And it does so entirely without regard to whether the lie was made for the purpose of material gain,” Kennedy wrote in the ruling.
Kennedy added that “enacting a similar but more finely tailored statute” could result in a law that both protects the dignity of true military medal recipients and passes the test of constitutionality.
A current bill in the House of Representatives aims to do just that. The Stolen Valor Act of 2011, introduced by Nevada Republican Joe Heck, makes it a crime to benefit from a lie about military service, rather than illegalizing certain kinds of lies........

What Does Today's Supreme Court Ruling Mean for Veterans?


In Case You Missed It! The House and Senate Reach Agreement on Comprehensive Veterans Legislation

Agreement Reached on Comprehensive Legislation for Veterans
JUN 21, 2012 Issues: Veterans
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, issued the following statement on an amendment to H.R. 1627, which reflects an agreement reached in conference by the Republican and Democratic leadership of the Veterans’ Affairs Committees in the House and Senate:
“This comprehensive legislation represents more than a year’s worth of work by the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees on behalf of America’s veterans. The Committees have worked in unison for months to come to agreement on a package that will improve benefits and services to veterans and their families.
“This bill includes nearly 50 provisions, which combines House-passed legislation and Senate Committee-reported bills. Today, we move forward to improve healthcare, housing, education, homelessness, memorial affairs, and compensation for veterans and certain dependents. This legislation also protects veterans from predatory behaviors and requires increased accountability and transparency within VA.
“We have achieved this legislative accomplishment in a fiscally responsible manner and the bill will not cost the taxpayer an extra dime. We have received a great deal of input from Veterans Service Organizations and advocates from across the country to address the most pressing concerns our veterans face today. Their participation has been key to moving this legislation forward.
“I would like to thank my colleagues, Chairman Murray and Ranking Member Burr in the Senate, and Ranking Member Filner in the House, for their continued support and dedication to ensure the benefits earned by veterans are preserved and remain one of our nation’s top priorities.”

Panetta Commends Jacoby for Northcom Fire Assistance

By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2012 – In an afternoon call to the commander of U.S. Northern Command, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta commended Army Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr. for leading the Defense Department’s effort to support the fight against Colorado’s raging wildfires.
Click photo for screen-resolution image
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta speaks with Army Gen. Charles H. Jacoby Jr., commander of U.S. Northern Command, for an update on the Colorado wildfires threatening Colorado Springs and the U.S. Air Force Academy, June 28, 2012. DOD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley
  

(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.
The secretary also commended National Guard and Northcom support to the National Interagency Fire Center based in Boise, Idaho, which coordinates firefighting efforts.
Jacoby updated Panetta on the effort to quell wildfires affecting Colorado Springs and the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the secretary instructed the Northcom commander to provide assets to the extent they are needed by federal or state authorities.
The Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs has burned more than 18,500 acres of land, forcing the evacuation of at least 32,000 people and threatening more than 20,000 structures in the area, including many homes of military families.
Four C-130 aircraft equipped with U.S. Forest Service Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems have so far flown 47 sorties dropping more than 100,000 gallons of fire retardant.




COMPLETE STORY HEREhttp://www.defense.gov//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=116945

Air Force says 31 victims so far in sex scandal

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AIR_FORCE_SEX_SCANDAL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

For veterans with PTSD, Fourth of July fireworks can trigger bad memories

For veterans with PTSD, Fourth of July fireworks can trigger bad memories

As the boom of fireworks echoes through his neighborhood, Lee Pisarek often finds himself reaching for his beard.
He couldn't grow facial hair back when he was fighting in Operation Desert Storm because it interfered with his gas mask. So Pisarek, who was injured while serving in the Army in 1992, knows that if his beard is there, he's not back in combat.
For veterans such as Pisarek who have post-traumatic stress disorder, the Fourth of July can be a difficult holiday. Loud fireworks and flashing explosions can trigger memories of life-threatening situations that caused severe trauma, and it can be hard to keep instinctual reactions in check.


COMPLETE STORY HERE: For veterans with PTSD, Fourth of July fireworks can trigger bad memories - News - Stripes

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Women Veterans Bill of Rights

The Women Veterans Bill of Rights states that women veterans should have the following rights:


(1) The right to a coordinated, comprehensive, primary women’s health care, at every Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility, including the recognized models of best practices, systems, and structures for care delivery that ensure that every woman veteran has access to a Department of Veterans Affairs primary care provider who can meet all her primary care needs, including gender-specific, acute and chronic illness, preventive, and mental health care.
(2) The right to be treated with dignity and respect at all Department of Veterans Affairs facilities.
(3) The right to innovation in care delivery promoted and incentivized by the Veterans Health Administration to support local best practices fitted to the particular configuration and women veteran population.
(4) The right to request and get treatment by clinicians with specific training and experience in women’s health issues.
(5) The right to enhanced capabilities of medical providers, clinical support, non-clinical, and administrative, to meet the comprehensive health care needs of women veterans.
(6) The right to request and expect gender equity in provision of clinical health care services.
(7) The right to equal access to health care services as that of their male counterparts.
(8) The right to parity to their male veteran counterpart regarding the outcome of performance measures of health care services.
(9) The right to be informed, through outreach campaigns, of benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and to be included in Department outreach materials for any benefits and service to which they are entitled.
(10) The right to be featured proportionately, including by age and ethnicity, in Department outreach materials, including electronic and print media that clearly depict them as being the recipient of the benefits and services provided by the Department.
(11) The right to be recognized as an important separate population in new strategic plans for service delivery within the health care system of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
(12) The right to equal consideration in hiring and employment for any job to which they apply.
(13) The right to equal consideration in securing Federal contracts.
(14) The right to equal access and accommodations in homeless programs that will meet their unique family needs.
(15) The right to have their claims adjudicated equally, fairly, and accurately without bias or disparate treatment.
(16) The right to have their military sexual trauma and other injuries compensated in a way that reflects the level of trauma sustained.
(17) The right to expect that all veteran service officers, especially those who are trained by the Department of Veterans Affairs Training Responsibility Involvement Preparation program for claims processing, are required to receive training to be aware of and sensitive to the signs of military sexual trauma, domestic violence, and personal assault.
(18) The right to the availability of female personnel to assist them in the disability claims application and appellate processes of the Department.
(19) The right to the availability of female compensation and pension examiners.
(20) The right to expect specialized training be provided to disability rating personnel regarding military sexual trauma and gender-specific illnesses so that these claims can be adjudicated more accurately.
(21) The right to expect the collection of gender-specific data on disability ratings, for the performance of longitudinal and trend analyses, and for other applicable purposes.
(22) The right to a method to identify and track outcomes for all claims involving personal assault trauma, regardless of the resulting disability.
(23) The right for women veterans’ programs and women veteran coordinators to be measured and evaluated for performance, consistency, and accountability.
(24) The right to burial benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Panetta says educating military children a national security issue

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, leading a contingent of top-level leaders from the Pentagon to Grapevine the next two days, asserted in a speech this morning that educating the children of armed service members is a national security issue.
With 44 percent of the nation's military members called mom or dad, it is critical to attracting and keeping those volunteers by making sure their children receive the best education possible, Panetta said.
"The bottom line is that our military is better able to defend the country when we address the long-term educational needs of their children," Panetta said in one of the opening speeches at a national conference of the Military Child Education Coalition at the Gaylord Texan Hotel and Convention Center.
The Military Child Education Coalition, a non-profit based in Harker Heights outside Fort Hood, was formed in the 1990s to help school teachers, counselors, social workers and other professionals work with the particular challenges of military children. It has also raised those children's profile within the Defense Department and Capitol Hill......

Women Vets: Avoid Being Homeless or Get Help if You Are!


While VA's services are available to all Veterans, there are special programs available to women Veterans to help them stay on their feet and avoid the indignity of becoming homeless.
If you’re a women Veteran who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless (or know someone who is), connect with VA services by calling:
1–877–4AID–VET
You will chat with trained counselors who will link you to help and support.

All homeless Veterans and Veterans at risk of homelessness are encouraged to connect with VA services by calling the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 1-877-4AID-VET (1-877-424-3838), or online at www.veteranscrisisline.net.


REMEMBER: if you are a homeless veteran you can walk into any VA Medical Center and ask for "Patient Care Services Representative" because you are homeless and they will help you on the spot. Homeless veterans, whether enrolled in VA or not, will NOT be turned away.


RESOURCES:

"Those who have served this nation as Veterans should never find themselves on the streets, living without care and without hope." – VA Secretary Eric Shinseki

URGENT UPDATE: GIBILL.COM SHUT DOWN FOR DEFRAUDING VETERANS


GIBill.com shut down in settlement over defrauding veterans

WASHINGTON — The marketing firm behind GIBill.com will shut down that website, scale back more than a dozen others and pay $2.5 million in penalties under terms of a settlement with state attorneys general over deceptive advertising practices aimed at student veterans.
Veterans groups and Department of Veterans Affairs officials hailed the announcement as much-needed victory over the tactics of for-profit colleges, who they say have targeted those students as potential cash cows for their schools. Industry representatives called it smear campaign.
The settlement is the result of a monthlong investigation into the practices of QuinStreet, an online marketing firm whose clients include a host of for-profit colleges. Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway said called the company and its use of the GIBill.com website “the most egregious example” he has seen of misinformation and greed directed at veterans.
“This is a public trust issue,” he said. “We have many publicly traded companies taking a funnel of taxpayer money intended to educate veterans, and instead giving them credits they can’t transfer, debt they can’t discharge and putting them in a hole. That’s unconscionable.”
The website, which offered information on veteran education benefits and careers, consistently redirected visitors to a small group of for-profit schools as the best place to use their GI Bill tuition.
State attorneys charged that the website managers did little to acknowledge their site was not an official government information page, or that those for-profit schools in many cases would cost them more money than public school options.

What Can I Do if I Think I Have PTSD?


Resources & Self Test (via VA)
Where to Get Help for PTSD
If you think you have PTSD, it's important to get assessed by a professional. Only a trained provider can determine if you have PTSD. If you think you may have PTSD, talk to your doctor or a mental health provider. Treatment can work, and early treatment may help reduce long-term symptoms.

If you think you have PTSD

  • Talk to your family doctor.
  • Talk to a mental health professional, such as a therapist.
  • If you're a Veteran, contact your local VA hospital or Vet Center.
  • Talk to a close friend or family member. He or she may be able to support you and find you help.
  • Talk to a religious leader.
  • Fill out a PTSD questionnaire or screen (see below).
  • Learn more about talking to your doctor about trauma.

Take a self-screen for PTSD

A screen is a brief set of questions to tell you if it is likely you might have PTSD. Below is the PC-PTSD Screen.
Instructions: In your life, have you ever had any experience that was so frightening, horrible, or upsetting that, in the past month, you:
  1. Have had nightmares about it or thought about it when you did not want to?
  2. Tried hard not to think about it or went out of your way to avoid situations that reminded you of it?
  3. Were constantly on guard, watchful, or easily startled?
  4. Felt numb or detached from others, activities, or your surroundings?
If you answer "yes" to any three items, you should think about seeing a doctor for an assessment.
You can also take a longer PTSD questionnaire (screen) and take it with you to the doctor. (While this screen asks about military experiences, you can also answer the questions as they would apply to any other kind of trauma.)
Many people who might need assistance with something like the symptoms of PTSD are afraid to go for help.
  • 1 out of 5 people say they might not get help because of what other people might think.
  • 1 out of 3 people say they would not want anyone else to know they were in therapy.
A study that's been done of soldiers coming home from Iraq found that only 4 in 10 service members with mental health problems said they would get help. Some of the most common reasons they gave were they might be seen as weak, or it might hurt their military career.

Why seek help?

Here are some of the reasons why you should seek help.

Early treatment is better

Symptoms of PTSD may get worse. Dealing with them now might help stop them from getting worse in the future. Finding out more about what treatments work, where to look for help, and what kind of questions to ask can make it easier to get help and lead to better outcomes.

PTSD symptoms can change family life

PTSD symptoms can get in the way of your family life. You may find that you pull away from loved ones, are not able to get along with people, or that you are angry or even violent. Getting help for your PTSD can help improve your family life.

PTSD can be related to other health problems

PTSD symptoms can worsen physical health problems. For example, a few studies have shown a relationship between PTSD and heart trouble. By getting help for your PTSD, you could also improve your physical health.

It may not be PTSD

Having symptoms of PTSD does not always mean you have PTSD. Some of the symptoms of PTSD are also symptoms for other mental health problems. For example, trouble concentrating or feeling less interested in things you used to enjoy can be symptoms of both depression and PTSD. Since different problems have different treatments, it's important to have your symptoms assessed.
While it may be tempting to identify PTSD in yourself or someone you know, the diagnosis generally is made by a mental health professional. This will usually involve an evaluation by a psychiatrist, psychologist, or clinical social worker specifically trained to assess psychological problems.

What you can do?

If you have PTSD or PTSD symptoms, you may feel helpless.
Here are ways, though, that you can help yourself:
  • Learn more about PTSD from this website or from other places.
  • Talk to your doctor or a chaplain or other religious leader.
  • Go for a PTSD evaluation by a mental health professional specifically trained to assess psychological problems.
If you do not want to be evaluated, but feel you have symptoms of PTSD, you may choose "watchful waiting." Watchful waiting means taking a wait-and-see approach.
  • If you get better on your own, you won't need treatment.
  • If your symptoms do not get better after 3 months, and they are either causing you distress or are getting in the way of your work or home life, talk with a health professional.
In a few cases, your symptoms may be so severe that you need immediate help. Call 911 or other emergency services immediately if you think that you cannot keep from hurting yourself or someone else.

What treatments are available?

Today, there are good treatments available for PTSD. When you have PTSD dealing with the past can be hard. Instead of telling others how you feel, you may keep your feelings bottled up. But talking with a therapist can help you get better.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) appears to be the most effective type of counseling for PTSD. There are different types of cognitive behavioral therapies such as cognitive therapy and exposure therapy. There is also a similar kind of therapy called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) that is used for PTSD. Medications have also been shown to be effective. A type of drug known as a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), which is also used for depression, is effective for PTSD.
For more information on treatment see the fact sheets in our PTSD Overviewsection.

Today is the 3rd Annual National PTSD Awareness Day, June is Awareness Month

RESOURCE: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/about/ptsd-awareness/ptsd_awareness_month.asp



National PTSD Awareness Day to be marked Wednesday on Capitol Hill

The third annual National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day is being marked Wednesday on Capitol Hill with an event meant to promote public understanding of issues faced by many returning servicemembers.
“We want all Americans to understand the true nature of PTSD to help remove the stigma that still surrounds this type of injury,” said Thomas Mahany, president of Honor for All, one of the organizations sponsoring the “Visible Honor for Invisible Wounds”gathering.
The event, to be held at 10 a.m. at Upper Senate Park adjacent to the Russell Senate Office Building, will include remarks from veterans who have been affected by PTSD as well as members of Congress and the surgeon generals of the Army, Air Force, Navy and National Guard. Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond Chandler is to deliver the keynote address.
Soprano Jennifer Lynn Waters is also scheduled to perform at noon.
PTSD Awareness Day was first established by Congress in 2010 after Sen. Kent Conrad, (D-N.D.), proposed honoring North Dakota Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Joe Biel, who took his own life following two tours in Iraq. Biel’s birthday was June 27.
“National PTSD Awareness Day should serve as an opportunity for all of us to listen and learn about post-traumatic stress and let all our troops — past and present — know it’s okay to come forward and ask for help,” Conrad said in a statement.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta called the recent surge in the number of military suicides “troubling and tragic” at a suicide prevention conference sponsored by the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs in Washington last week.
By Steve Vogel  |  06:00 AM ET, 06/27/2012