Veterans the Need for More Robust Mental

Veterans

The need for more robust mental health care is acute worldwide. One specific client population that is currently underserved is that of American veterans of foreign wars. In the state of Hawaii alone, there are seven active military installations and as many as 117, 254 veterans currently living in Hawaii," (VA, 2010). Yet there is only one Veteran's Affairs health care facility available to all 100,000-plus individuals qualifying for care in the state of Hawaii. This deficiency is deplorable in a country that purports to value its veterans and the services they provide to promote the freedom, justice, and values of the United States of America. Hawaii is a microcosm of the rest of the country: which is doing too little to help its most precious citizens. This group project consists of a multifaceted plan to prevent and treat mental health disorders among the American veteran community.

The problems that beset the veteran community are unique, and include psychological trauma. The stigma against mental illness remains one of the most significant impediments to availability of quality care for veterans. Therefore, a comprehensive public service and education campaign would be helpful in improving mental health care services for veterans in Hawaii and nationwide. Removing stigma against mental illness might encourage more veterans to seek health care services, and would also prompt coworkers and family members to raise the issue to their veteran friends and family.

Violence, spousal abuse, drug abuse, alcoholism, anxiety, depression, suicide, homelessness, and post-traumatic stress disorder are but a few of the mental health issues that besiege the American veteran community. Counseling, pharmacological intervention, and other psychological services are available but not accessible to veterans in the state of Hawaii. There is an insufficient Veterans Affairs infrastructure in Hawaii, where there are a large number of veterans compared with other states in the nation. Moreover, the Veterans Affairs agencies are not offered enough financial support to provide an improved psychological care infrastructure to its patient population. The private sector is inadequately prepared to address issues related to veterans: more education and professional development training are required. One way of combatting the problem of insufficient professional services for veterans is to recruit veterans to the psychological services sector.

Several types of psychological therapies are particularly useful for the Hawaiian veteran population. Group therapy is helpful because of the camaraderie and bonding that may ensue. "Being able to tell other veterans their story can help them face those fears that were caused by the trauma and move forward (VA, 2011). However, not all veterans are willing or able to benefit from group therapy. Some require individual counseling services. It can be particularly difficult to adapt to life after returning from combat, in the same way that prisoners find it difficult to create new and productive lives after being incarcerated. "Military members are sent to war leaving behind family, communities, and his or her lifestyle to fight a war; upon his or her return they are thrown back into their "old life's" and expected to adapt quickly and be unchanged (Cooter, 2004). Individual counseling can help the soldier navigate between the world of combat and the world of the regular job and family at home. Shock, guilt, violence, and trauama are all issues unique to the veteran. When these issues are combined with prior psycholigcal trauma from the family of origin, individal therapy may be necessary. As of now, there are insufficient services available for veterans in need of indiviudal counseling and other psychological services.

Psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapies are both potentially useful for veterans. "Psychodynamic psychotherapy a counselor can help a veteran become more independent ad learn to cope with his or her feelings by exposing the veteran to situations which will make the veteran recall the trauma and learn get through those situation (VA, 2011). Veterans who confront issues related to substance or alcohol abuse might benefit from cognitive-behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on helping a veteran deal with negative thoughts by learning to manage the feelings and stress underlying habitual behavior. Thus, the veteran does not feel that he or she has to use drugs or alcohol to cope.