PBS program features Capella graduate, faculty, and “the invisible wounded”
Beginning in September, PBS stations around the country are airing a 30-minute special, 
The Next Mission, on the crisis in mental health among our returning combat veterans and the response needed from the mental health care community, and from all of us.
The Next Mission, on the crisis in mental health among our returning combat veterans and the response needed from the mental health care community, and from all of us.The program uses data from Capella’s Joining Forces report about mental health issues facing returning servicemembers, and points to things we can all do to help returning veterans assimilate back into civilian life.
A tidal wave
The statistics are almost overwhelming. The VA estimates that 93,000 servicemembers return from Afghanistan or Iraq with possible post-traumatic stress disorder and 61,000 with possible depressive disorders. In 2008, the US Army reported 143 soldiers committed suicide, a record number. Forty-four percent of those who return from combat report a mental health condition.
Army Chaplain Col. James Griffith says in the film, “The VA is facing a tidal wave and they know it.”
Joining Forces takes first steps
Under the direction of former faculty chair Col. (ret.) Will Wilson, PhD, Capella conducted a survey of returning combat servicemembers, their families, and mental health providers to define the scope of the problem and point to possible solutions. The survey, Joining Forces, was published by Capella in 2008.
Survey results emphasize the great demand for mental health services, barriers to access, and the degree of preparedness that mental health providers feel in the face of this challenge.
Cultural barriers to treatment
Major Rosanne Visco, PhD, an Air Force psychiatric nurse and 2008 graduate of Capella, is based at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center where all Afghanistan and Iraq casualties are received after evacuation and transport from Ramstein AFB in Germany.
The major’s PhD dissertation, “Post-Deployment, Self-Reporting of Mental Health Problems and Barriers to Care,” highlighted the stigma attached to seeking mental health care among servicemembers. The problem is aggravated by the cultural differences between military personnel and mental health providers. Seeking help is sometimes regarded as a weakness or character flaw for the servicemember, and mental health care is sometimes seen as a “left-leaning liberal kind of profession,” according to Col. (ret.) David Fenell, professor of counseling and human services at the University of Colorado.
Everybody knows somebody
With more than 2 million returning servicemembers, almost everyone has a friend, neighbor, relative, or co-worker who has experienced combat and is trying to return to civilian life. The Next Mission highlights the magnitude of the need and important efforts by Capella to address this compelling issue. Visit the Joining Forces Web site for tips on how to help a returning combat veteran you may know.
Check your local public television listings for The Next Mission. The program features Col. (ret.) Will Wilson, PhD, former faculty chair at Capella, and Major Rosanne Visco, PhD and a Capella graduate.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 at 1:16 pm and is filed under Alumni, Learners, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
