New DoD center offers help for PTSD - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

New DoD center offers help for PTSD

The Defense Department has created a new outreach center for troops and family members who need help understanding post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, as well as to help them get the resources they need.

Army Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, said that while the Defense Department has created many existing resources for service members, the new outreach center grew out of focus groups that were conducted to see what else might be done.

“They said, ‘We want a place where we call and know the folks who answer the phones know our concerns,’” Sutton said. “We knew we had to get the right kind of professionals.”

People who access existing programs — Military OneSource, the Wounded Warrior Resource Center or the National Resource Directory — might find that their first contact was not necessarily with someone who understands that traumatic brain injury may make it harder for victims to quickly make a point or understand an answer, or that a person with PTSD might quickly become frustrated and angry if asked an insensitive question.

The new center was designed with that in mind, Sutton said. It is also hoped that the center will help the military better reach National Guard and reserve members who live in rural areas.

The new Outreach Center for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury opened Jan. 15 and will feature 21 clinicians, most with master’s degrees, who are specially trained to understand and help those with TBI and PTSD. Clinicians will take calls and answer e-mails 24 hours a day, Sutton said.

Though it has been difficult for the Defense Department to hire sufficient numbers of mental health workers because of a national shortage in that field, Sutton said at least two of the clinicians are former military psychologists, and several are family members of someone serving in the military.

And, Sutton said, the center’s virtual office means clinicians can answer phone calls and e-mails from regional offices or even their own homes. “They have an immensely deep and broad wealth of experience,” she said.

The military made sure the clinicians met each other, as well as representatives from other resource centers, such as Military OneSource, so they can link up with each other when they need or can offer help. The clinicians also will have a chat network so they can talk to each other about what works and what doesn’t.

Clinicians will answer questions and direct people to the resources they need whether that means talking about symptoms or helping someone find a doctor. People also may contact the center anonymously.

To contact the Outreach Center, call (866) 966-1020 or e-mail resources@dcoeoutreach.org