BETHESDA, MD—For a handful of military mental health providers on the front lines, treating combat stress and trauma is an everyday occurrence. The military has begun to realize that the advice and care they furnish can often prevent acute battlefield trauma from becoming a chronic stateside problem.

BETHESDA, MD—Women comprise nearly 20-percent of the military. Many women, like their male counterparts, return from combat traumatized by the events they experienced.

BETHESDA, MD—There is a pressing need to understand what the rehabilitation trajectories are going to be for those servicemembers returning with mild and moderate TBI, according to Kris Siddharthan, PhD, a health services researcher at the James A Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa, FL.

WASHINGTON, DC—A holistic approach to care makes the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE) unique in how it treats servicemembers with psychological issues.

BETHESDA, MD—“Combat injury is not an event. It’s a process.” Those words, spoken by Stephen Cozza, MD, associate director of the USUHS Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, could have been taken as the central theme of DCoE’s Trauma Spectrum Conference held last month on the campus of NIH. The conference has focused attention for the last three years on the effects of combat trauma not only on the soldier, but also on their spouses, children, friends, and society as a whole.

BETHESDA, MD—The science into the biological mechanisms behind the psychological symptoms of PTSD is still in its infancy, but studies have linked PTSD to other serious health problems, including cardiovascular disease, chronic pain, fatigue, and metabolic disorders. Research funded by NIH is suggesting that the cause of this link might have its roots in endocrine and immune function differences in patients with PTSD and most significantly in those with co-morbid major depressive disorder.

WASHINGTON, DC—Veterans and servicemembers may be able to help each other overcome stigma in seeking psychological help, officials said during a webinar on combating stigma in the military hosted by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE).

WASHINGTON, DC—Servicemembers, veterans, and their families will need to look no further than their smart phone for help in monitoring their emotional health.

NEW YORK CITY, NY—The student sitting across from you is withdrawn, a little hostile, and tired all the time. He has missed assignments, been repeatedly absent, and when he does show up for class, he sometimes falls asleep mid-lecture. If you begin the conversation from a place of compassion and concern, you will eventually be able to convince him to go see someone at the counseling center on campus. If you aggressively confront him about his grades, he will shut down and the session will end with the student no better off.

This scenario is part of a training simulation called At-Risk®, designed by Kognito Interactive, and it is played out on a computer using avatars. In the simulation, you play the part of the professor, with the goal of recognizing students who are suffering from psychological distress and directing the simulated conversation in such a way that they agree to seek help.

WASHINGTON, DC—The first design project Patricia Moore undertook was to build a touch-sensitive lamp for her grandfather, a veteran whose fingers were no longer able to grip and twist the switch on his lamp.