Behavioral Health Services For Returning Veterans
Summary
There are a large number of military veterans living in New York State. Our state has the fourth largest concentration of veterans in the nation, and the number returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan is growing. The current availability of mental health and chemical dependency services is insufficient to meet the anticipated need. Catholic Charities programs may be in a unique position to help address this problem.
Conference Position
The Catholic Conference supports efforts to ensure availability of mental health and chemical dependency services for returning veterans.
Rationale
There are 1,065,749 military veterans living in New York State. Nationally, 1.1 million veterans have, thus far, served in Afghanistan and/or Iraq. Of this number, 35% have sought services from the Veterans Administration for treatment of mental health issues, substance abuse issues and traumatic brain injury.
A January 2008 report issued by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America presented data gleaned from 12 government sources. The report indicates that at least 30 to 40% of Iraq veterans, or about half a million people, will face a serious psychological wound, including depression, anxiety, or PTSD. Multiple tours and inadequate time at home between deployments increase rates of combat stress by 50%.
Untreated mental health injuries can lead to unemployment, domestic violence, substance abuse, homelessness and suicide. Twenty percent of married troops in Iraq say they are planning a divorce. At least 40,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have been treated at a VA hospital for substance abuse. The current Army suicide rate is the highest it has been in 26 years.
There are significant barriers to receiving mental health care in the Department of Defense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) system. Mental health evaluations conducted by the Department of Defense are ineffective, and access to mental health care is in short supply. As a result, less than 40% of troops with psychological wounds are getting treated. The number of licensed psychologists in the military has dropped by more than 20% in recent years. And only 10% of military psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers are trained in the VA and DOD recommended treatments for PTSD. The VA has already given mental health diagnoses to over 100,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, or 38% of new veterans who visited the VA for any reason. The VA has consistently failed to accurately predict the number of returning veterans who would need care. In 2006, the VA expected only 2,900 new Iraq and Afghanistan veteran PTSD cases. The actual number was 17,827. The veterans’ mental health system is overwhelmed by the influx; in April 2007, more than half of the 200-plus vet centers needed at least one more psychologist or therapist. A VA undersecretary has admitted that, for many veterans, mental health and substance abuse treatment is “virtually inaccessible.”
The stigma associated with psychological injuries is a serious hurdle to getting Iraq and Afghanistan veterans the mental health care they need. More than half of soldiers and Marines in Iraq who test positive for a psychological injury are concerned that they will be seen as weak by their fellow service members. Almost one in three worry about the effect of a mental health diagnosis will have on their career.
Military families who endure the deployments of their loved ones and the stresses of readjustment when their veteran spouses, parents and adult children return home also require assistance that is not readily available. Catholic Charities programs are in all areas of the state, and are generally well respected and trusted by community members. They may be helpful in addressing the needs of those veterans and their families who, for various reasons, have been unable to secure the services they need through the Veterans Administration and U.S. military installations.
You can download this document, Behavioral Health Services for Returning Veterans, in PDF form.
