Observations On Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Military Se...

These examinations are conducted by VA clinicians or outside professionals who meet certain education and licensing requirements. Testimony presented to the committee indicated that clinicians often feel pressured to severely constrain the time that they devote to conducting a PTSD C&P examination—to as little as 20 minutes—even though the best practice manual for the exams specifies a protocol that can take three hours or more to properly complete. The committee believes that the key to proper administration of VA’s PTSD compensation program is a thorough C&P clinical examination conducted by an experienced mental health professional.

Highlighted by ddobbs

The second primary step in the compensation process for veterans is a rating of the level of disability associated with service-connected disorders identified in the clinical examination.

Highlighted by ddobbs

Under the committee’s suggested framework, the psychosocial and occupational aspects of functional impairment would be separately evaluated,

Highlighted by ddobbs

In my opinion, this NVVRS finding of multiple severe problems in the families of veterans with PTSD—made 15 years after the end of the Vietnam War—has important implications for today’s service men and women returning from OIF/OEF. Specifically, our Vietnam-era findings suggest that a significant number of current members of our Armed Forces will need access to effective treatments for war-related PTSD and its co-morbid conditions; similarly, their spouses and children will need access to trauma-informed treatments and services. A hard lesson learned from our nation’s response to Vietnam veterans is that we do not want to delay doing our best to prevent war-related PTSD from wreaking havoc on the futures of our OIF/OEF veterans and their families

Highlighted by ddobbs

Nearly 25 years ago, in response to unanswered questions about Vietnam veterans’ postwar adjustment, the Congress enacted Public Law 98-160, which in part directed the VA to arrange for an independent, scientific study of the adjustment of Vietnam veterans. The intent of the study was to provide an empirical basis for the formulation of policy related to veterans’ psychosocial health, especially PTSD. Findings from the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study were first presented to Congress in 1988. Because of its important scientific strengths—including the comprehensive assessment of its subjects using psychological tests with well-established psychometric properties—NVVRS findings have been an important part of the empirical foundation of federal policy related to war veterans.

Highlighted by ddobbs

Consulting and Clinical Psychology in 1992, my colleagues and I reported that families of veterans with PTSD were more likely to suffer domestic violence than the families of veterans without PTSD. In addition, the study found that children of the veterans with PTSD manifested significantly higher levels of behavioral and emotional problems than children of veterans without PTSD, and that more than one third of veterans with PTSD had a child with behavioral or emotional problems.

Highlighted by ddobbs