December 1, 2011 – NY Times

SAN ANTONIO — The call came into the behavior specialists here from a doctor in Afghanistan. His patient had just been through a firefight and now was cowering under a cot, refusing to come out.

Apparently even the chew toys hadn’t worked.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, thought Dr. Walter F. Burghardt Jr., chief of behavioral medicine at the Daniel E. Holland Military Working Dog Hospital at Lackland Air Force Base. Specifically, canine PTSD.

If anyone needed evidence of the frontline role played by dogs in war these days, here is the latest: the four-legged, wet-nosed troops used to sniff out mines, track down enemy fighters and clear buildings are struggling with the mental strains of combat nearly as much as their human counterparts.

By some estimates, more than 5 percent of the approximately 650 military dogs deployed by American combat forces are developing canine PTSD. Of those, about half are likely to be retired from service, Dr. Burghardt said.

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$100 million available to serve very low-income veteran families

In the Dec. 1, 2011, Federal Register, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced the availability of funds for supportive services grants under the Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program. This Notice contains information concerning the SSVF Program, initial and renewal supportive services grant application processes, and the amount of funding available.

The SSVF Program’s purpose is to provide supportive services grants to private nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives that will coordinate or provide supportive services to very low-income veteran families who: are residing in permanent housing; are homeless and scheduled to become residents of permanent housing within a specified time period; or after exiting permanent housing within a specified time period, are seeking other housing that is responsive to such very low-income veteran family’s needs and preferences.

Approximately $100 million is available for initial and renewal supportive services grants to be funded under this Notice for a one-year period.

Grant applications must be received by the SSVF Program Office by 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Feb. 15, 2012.

For a copy of the application packages, download directly from the SSVF Program web page by clicking here. Questions should be referred to the SSVF Program Office via phone at (877) 737-0111 (this is a toll-free number) or via email at SSVF@va.gov.

To view the entire announcement from the Dec. 1, 2011, Federal Register, click here.

December 1, 2011 – Defense Center of Excellence

National Center for Telehealth and Technology (T2) invites military mental health professionals to join “Psychological Health Providers for the Military Community,” a new group the center manages on LinkedIn. This initiative creates additional opportunities for providers to share information and best practices for treating psychological health or traumatic brain injury.

“Our vision for this group is to offer an engaging environment where mental health providers can share knowledge, exchange ideas and collaborate to help provide the highest level of support and care for service members, veterans and military families,” said Dr. Greg Gahm, executive director of T2.

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December 1, 2011 – Washington Post

When Brian Hawthorne enrolled at George Washington University as a 23-year-old junior after two tours in Iraq, the former Army medic was unprepared for the adjustment.

“I felt like I was on another planet,” he said of his first semester in 2008. Hawthorne recalled feeling whipsawed by the abrupt transition of “going from an environment where people around you are dying every day and trying to kill you” to a campus where he was surrounded by people who didn’t know anyone in the military.

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November 29, 2011 – Chicago Press Release Service

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often leads to other mental health disorders, namely eating disorders, addiction and even suicide.  Recently, one of the highest ranking officials in the Army, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, suggested the name of the condition should be changed to Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI) because too many soldiers are not seeking proper treatment and are discouraged from understanding the condition.

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