Group items tagged

Photos New PTSD Clinic uses virtual reality Dr. Alan Maiers (left), the assistant chief of the Warrior Resiliancy Program at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, simulates a virtual reality city patrol Aug. 26 for Maj. Monty Baker, the Warrior Resiliancy Program director of research. The virtual reality program is designed to treat servicemembers who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder after returning from combat operations. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Amber Bressler) Download HiRes Wilford Hall opens new PTSD Clinic Posted 9/17/2009 Email story Print story by Linda Frost 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs 9/17/2009 - LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Wilford Hall Medical Center has a new clinic to treat patients who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. The PTSD Clinic offers evidence-based treatments and a virtual reality program to help Airmen returning from combat operations. PTSD is an anxiety disorder which can occur after a person has been through a traumatic event, according to the National Center for PTSD. "We want to provide the highest quality care possible for patients experiencing PTSD," said Col. (Dr.) Gerald Talcott, 59th Medical Wing Mental Health Squadron commander. As part of the Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, the PTSD Clinic was created in response to the increasing number of service and family members with PTSD. It is timely in that it coincides with the establishment of the Air Force's new Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, a pilot program initiated at eight Air Force bases. The Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, using a computer-simulated Virtual Iraq and Virtual Afghanistan, allows Airmen to interact and recreate a traumatic scene and recall sights, sounds, smells, thoughts and feelings. Still in its preliminary stages, the clinic staff started seeing patients Aug. 3, and is led by Dr. Kellie Crowe, staff psychologist. "We are very excited about providing evidence-based treat

Treatment for servicemembers suffering from psychological trauma really is a brave new world. Before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there was little research on effective treatments and not much pressure to add to what existed, said Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Loree Sutton, director of the Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. Sutton, at a Warrior Resilience Conference here, said her office has been working with the services to develop treatment programs and is researching best medical practices. But the effort isn't a simple matter of an open checkbook; results count.

Patients seeking help for facial paralysis have a new treatment option available now offered by doctors at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

The Defense Department is investigating new treatments as part of a focused, sustained campaign to assist wounded warriors suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, a senior U.S. military official told Pentagon journalists recently.

Army Maj. Gen. David Blackledge is doing his part to reduce the social stigma attached to seeking mental health treatment for war-related stress.

David Zucchino, a service member diagnosed with PTSD, describes his journey through diagnosis, treatment, and the affects on his family.

1/23/2009 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Air Force Personnel Center officials here will begin to transfer health treatment records of retired and separated active, Guard and Reserve Airmen to the Department of Veterans Affairs Feb. 1.

A team of researchers led by Kerry Z. Donnelly, an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Counseling, has been studying the clinical profiles of Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans suffering from traumatic brain injuries (TBI) to design treatments to better the return to civilian life.

More than 44 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who have sought treatment at a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility have been diagnosed with one or more possible mental disorders, according to the agency's most recent summary of veteran health care.

Movement for Global Mental Health calls for scaling up treatments for mental disorders, for the human rights of those affected to be protected, and for more research in low- and middle-income countries. The range of activities and efforts by multidisciplinary health professionals allows us to make major strides. I heartily endorse this initiative and am committed to helping achieve the vision, spurred by the Movement, that this can be one of the great public health successes of our times.

Maj. (Dr) Vikhyat Bebarta, chief of medical toxicology and a staff emergency physician, is the recipient of the Best Basic Science Research Award, presented by the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), for his research on evaluating treatments for cyanide poisoning.

The Defense Department recently handed out contracts to three companies to design independent living systems for injured vets. They're supposed to help the wounded make the transition from hospitalization to home, and then provide long-term care. Two of the systems being developed, from Ingenium Care, LLC and Camris International, use a wireless network packed with touch screens, motion detectors and wearable, pre-programmed schedulers.

The Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) is one of many parts of the Department of Defense (DoD) that is undertaking initiatives to promote the prevention, early identification and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI) and substance use disorders.

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., Feb. 21, 2009 - A tour of the Traumatic Brain Injury Warrior Resiliency and Recovery Center here yesterday made a favorable impression on the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Doctor uses music's healing power PBS special titled "Healthy Minds," a 13-part educational series in its second season on New York's WLIW 21. The show will focus on how soldiers deal with post traumatic stress disorder and how military and medical personnel are helping alleviate it. The program will focus on music, and how it helps patients come to terms with their war memories and experiences. The doctor's poetry, another element inspired by her therapeutic sessions, will also be featured on the program.

A Missouri senator has proposed a bill that would in some cases keep under wraps the identities of servicemembers who seek help for alcohol or drug abuse.

The Pharmacy Data Transaction Service reviews your new prescriptions against all previous prescriptions filled through the military treatment facility, network and mail order pharmacy options, reducing the likelihood of adverse drug to drug interactions.