Tag Archives: PTSD

Admiral and Mrs. Mullen on NPR – frank discussion of suicide, post-service homelessness in military

Here’s the summary of Scott Simon’s interview with Admiral and Mrs. Mike Mullen.  Admiral Mullen is the serving Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I found their candor and compassion – no easy answers, no platitudes, no avoidance of responsibility – striking:

In September, four soldiers at Ft. Hood, veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, took their own lives in the course of one week. More than a hundred Army troops have killed themselves this year. Host Scott Simon talks with Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife, Deborah, about the increased efforts to curb suicides by military servicemen and women.

Link to interview. We’ll post transcript when it’s available, expected later today.

Pilot of Acupuncture to Improve Quality of Life in Veterans With Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and PTSD – Full Text View – ClinicalTrials.gov

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The purpose of this study is to examine if acupuncture improves Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms among veterans who participated in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. This study will also examine the degree of veteran acceptance for acupuncture.


Puzzling Veterans Administration regulation limits use of safer, cheaper, effective treatment

For some background, see our earlier post, Mindgrowth – affordable, effective biofeedback devices.

The United States military and veterans hospital systems are making effective and widespread use of biofeedback  ((Biofeedback, as defined by the United States National Institutes of Health.))  in treating PTSD ((Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; see, inter alia, “Traumatic Stress,” by the Harvard Physician Bess van der Kolk. For other examples see Tackling fears, virtually (Times Colonist, October 8, 2009;Stress management program helps soldiers with PTSD Florida Times-Union, 28 Sep 2009))

That biofeedback (sometimes referred to as “neurofeedback”) can be of medical use seems uncontroversial. The desired end-state, of course, is for the patient to beable to reproduce the same effect (e.g., not panicking when exposed to loud noises) under normal circumstances and without the use of the equipment.It’s a process of learning and unlearning, and like any such process, some repetition is in order.

Why, then, would the government use this equipment widely, but have a rule which prohibits prescribing or dispensing the equipment so that patients can take the devices home and practice with them between  office visits. Link to VA Regulation (excerpted in footnote)  ((http://www.va.gov/hac/forbeneficiaries/champva/policymanual/champva/chapter2/1c2s30-5.htm, or http://tinyurl.com/yfyywhd

VI. EXCLUSIONS

A. Biofeedback for hypertension.

B. Biofeedback for the treatment of migraine headaches.

C. Biofeedback therapy provided for the treatment of ordinary muscle tension or for psychosomatic (i.e., psychophysiological or psychological factors affecting a medical condition) conditions (CPT codes 90901, 90875, and 90876). [38 CFR 17.272(a)(71)]

D. Rental or purchase of biofeedback equipment.  [38 CFR 17.272 (a)(70)]

E. Treatment of psychosomatic conditions (i.e., psychophysiological or psychological factors affecting medical condition) and for CPT codes 90875 and 90876.  This exclusion includes individual psychophysiological therapy incorporating biofeedback training.))

We’d welcome learning that we’ve misread the rule, or that there’s a good reason for it – devices powered by two “AA” batteries don’t generally pose much risk.

But if our reading is correct, who benefits from this rule?

Continue reading →

Mark Benjamin of Salon shreds Army credibility on report denying manipulation of PTSD diagnoses

-In an interview broadcast this morning on WNYC, Mark Benjamin, national correspondent for Salon.com, discredits an Army report which found that no manipulation of PTSD diagnoses at Fort Carson, Colorado. It seems appropriate to start by removing what is, on its, face, a strong piece of evidence – the Army’s self-exoneration. In the WNYC interview, Benjamin points out that:

  • What was released was a “summary” of an “informal” investigation
  • The summary report was itself heavily redacted, thus greatly reducing its persuasive value.
  • It ignored a tape recording supporting the underlying claim, earlier reported by Benjamin and Michael de Yoanna

In other words, had the investigation been conducted by an inspector general, outside of the chain of command, offered some protection to witnesses concerned about retaliation, and at least took account of the original recording – the investigation’s conclusion(s) would be more credible for a number of reasons: (1) absence of a motive to fabricate, or a motive to ignore, evidence; (2) Offered witnesses – essentially whistle-blowers – some protection; and (3) didn’t obviously ignore relevant and facially credible evidence.

“I believe that I did have PTSD” is the latest piece in a series by Mark Benjamin and Michael de Yoanna on Salon.com.

Links to their earlier pieces can be found at the bottom of the page.

PTSD Resources

At the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey

National Center for PTSD

VetTrauma.org

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Overview – Military Benefits from Military.com