Programs offered by other veterans service organizations.
If you are over age 18 and are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, you may be eligible to participate in a PTSD treatment study by the New York State Psychiatric Institute. The institute is conducting a randomized, controlled trial funded by the National Institute of Mental Health to compare three different psychotherapy treatments for patients with chronic post-traumatic stress. A total of 165 patients will be assigned to Prolonged Exposure (PE), Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), or Relaxation Therapy and treated over the course of 14 weeks. Independent evaluators blinded to study treatment condition will evaluate treatment response. Responders to treatment will be assessed 3 months later. Nonresponders to treatment will be offered up to 3 months of alternative treatment at New York State Psychiatric Institute. There is no cost to participate in the study aside from transportation to and from sessions and the need to complete assessment interviews and self-report instruments. All ratings and treatment are kept confidential.
If you are interested in participating, call Ms. Helena Rosenfeld (212 543-6747) at New York State Psychiatric Institute to receive initial screening over the phone. Those who seem likely candidates will be asked to come in for a face to face evaluation.
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The Department of Defense has opened a 24-hour outreach center to provide information and referrals to military service members, veterans, their families, and others with questions about psychological health and traumatic brain injury. The new center, which is operated by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE), can be contacted around the clock, 365 days a year, by phone at (866) 966-1020 and by e-mail at resources@dcoeoutreach.org.
The center can address everything from routine requests for information about psychological health and traumatic brain injury, to questions about symptoms a caller is having, to helping callers find appropriate health care resources. DCoE promotes resilience, recovery, and reintegration of service members facing psychological health and traumatic brain injury issues, and works to advance research, education, diagnosis, and treatment of these conditions. The DCoE outreach center is staffed by behavioral health consultants and nurses, most with master's degrees. In addition to answering questions, staffers refer callers to contact centers in other parts of the Department of Defense, other federal agencies, and outside organizations when appropriate. Other contact centers also refer callers to the DCoE outreach center. The center serves members, leaders, and healthcare providers of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, Reserve, and all uniformed services, along with veterans of all the services. The families of service members and of veterans are also served by the new center. More information is available at http://www.dcoe.health.mil.
In addition DCoE has launched The Real Warriors Campaign specifically to promote the processes of building resilience, facilitating recovery, and supporting reintegration of returning service members, veterans, and their families. Please visit www.realwarriors.net for more information.
The National Toll-Free Crisis Management, Information, and Referral Lifeline for Veterans and Families, 1-888-777-4443, seven days a week, 9:00 a.m to 9:00 p.m., Pacific Time. The lifeline specifically addresses the problem of veterans "coming home" and "falling through the cracks." An initial call to the National Veterans and Families Lifeline is met with a live, immediate response--no automated messages. Our call center team listens, immediately assesses the emotional state of the caller, identifies additional service needs, and where appropriate, conferences in third parties that can help. We serve each lifeline caller; and depending on the situation, we will spend anywhere from a few minutes, to several hours, days, or up to several weeks and months of ongoing case management.
The National Suicide Prevention Hotline for Veterans, 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and press "1" to reach the VA hotline, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To ensure veterans with emotional crises have round-the-clock access to trained professionals, the Department of Veterans Affairs is partnering with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. When veterans call, mental health professionals in Canandaigua, N.Y., will work closely with local VA mental health providers to help callers. Please also visit www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/.
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The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a new Web site for returning service members. At Returning Service Members OEF/OIF you will find information on benefits and other resources for service members newly returned from deployment. Please visit http://www.oefoif.va.gov/.
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Operation Homefront provides emergency assistance and morale to troops, to the families they leave behind, and to wounded warriors when they return home. A nonprofit 501(c)(3), Operation Homefront leads more than 4,500 volunteers in 30 chapters nationwide and has provided critical assistance to more than 45,000 military families in need. Operation Homefront also operates an online magazine for military wives and women in uniform. Through this community, the organization reaches the newest and youngest military families, instantly alerting them about programs and other information to help them succeed in military life. Please visit www.operationhomefront.net/index.asp.
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Strategic Outreach to Families of All Reservists (SOFAR) provides free psychological support, psychotherapy, psychoeducation, and prevention services throughout the New England and New York areas to extended families of reserve and national guard deployed during the Global War on Terrorism from time of alert through the period of reunion and reintegration. Operating under the belief that the soldier is the one who is deployed, but the whole family serves, SOFAR coordinates the delivery of counseling and support services to families by licensed professionals including psychologists, psychiatrists, psychopharmacologists, psychiatric nurses, and social workers. These volunteers lead family support sessions, provide individual counseling services, and refer family members to other licensed professionals outside the SOFAR network if additional assistance is required. For more information, please contact: SOFAR--Strategic Outreach to Families of All Reservists (A Program of the Psychoanalytic Couple and Family Institute of New England), P.O. Box 920781, Needham, MA 02492, tel: 617-266-2611, fax: 781-433-0510, e-mail: help@SOFARUSA.org, Web site: www.sofarusa.org.
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The Wounded EOD Warrior Foundation is providing assistance to wounded EOD warriors and their families in the form of financial relief. (EOD, explosive ordnance disposal, is a joint service military occupational skill. EOD technicians thus serve within the Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force.) The resources provided by the foundation to the wounded and their families are above and beyond the budgetary contraints of the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs. To apply for assistance or for more information, please visit their Web site at www.woundedeodwarrior.org.
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We also encourage you to visit the Web site of our partner Network of Care, which has both a Library and a Service Directory, specifically for veterans and service members.
