The two-year study, funded by the Army's Military Operational Medicine Research Program, was conducted at Fort Carson, Colo. It involved 152 active-duty soldiers who had either attempted suicide or had been determined to be at high risk for suicide, and evaluated the effectiveness of a brief cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in preventing future suicide attempts.
19. O people of the
Scripture (Jews and Christians)! Now has come to you Our Messenger (Muhammad ) making (things) clear unto you,
after a break in (the series of) Messengers, lest you say: "There came
unto us no bringer of glad tidings and no warner. " But now has come unto
you a bringer of glad tidings and a warner. And Allah is Able to do all
things.
20. And (remember) when Musa
(Moses) said to his people: "O my people! Remember the Favour of Allah to
you, when He made Prophets among you, made you kings, and gave you what He had
not given to any other among the 'Alamin (mankind and jinns, in the
past)."
21. "O my people! Enter
the holy land (Palestine) which Allah has assigned to you, and turn not back
(in flight) for then you will be returned as losers."
22. They said: "O Musa
(Moses)! In it (this holy land) are a people of great strength, and we shall
never enter it, till they leave it; when they leave, then we will enter."
23. Two men of those who
feared (Allah and) on whom Allah had bestowed His Grace [they were íæÔÚ æ ßÇáÈ
Yusha' (Joshua) and Kalab (Caleb)] said: "Assault them through the gate,
for when you are in, victory will be yours, and put your trust in Allah if you
are believers indeed."
24. They said: "O Musa
(Moses)! We shall never enter it as long as they are there. So go you and
your Lord and fight you two, we are sitting right here."
25. He [Musa (Moses)] said:
"O my Lord! I have power only over myself and my brother, so separate us
from the people who are the Fasiqun (rebellious and disobedient to
Allah)!"
26. (Allah) said: "Therefore it (this holy land) is forbidden to them
for forty years; in distraction they will wander through the land. So be
not sorrowful over the people who are the Fasiqun (rebellious and disobedient to
Allah)." 5. Surah Al-Ma'idah (The Table Spread with Food)
The study found that soldiers receiving CBT were 60 percent less likely to make a suicide attempt during the 24-month follow-up than those receiving standard treatment. The results were published online Friday, Feb. 13, by The American Journal of Psychiatry.
The findings are particularly encouraging, given that rates of active-duty service members receiving psychiatric diagnoses increased by more than 60 percent during a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rates of suicides and suicide attempts rose in comparable numbers.
"The significant increase in military suicides over the past decade is a national tragedy," said Alan Peterson, Ph.D., a co-investigator on the study who is a professor of psychiatry in the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio and director of the military-focused STRONG STAR Consortium. "The Department of Defense has responded by investing significant resources into military suicide research, and the findings from this study may be the most important and most hopeful to date. To see a 60 percent reduction in suicide attempts among at-risk active-duty soldiers after a brief intervention is truly exciting," Dr. Peterson said.
Other UT Health Science Center investigators from the STRONG STAR Consortium included Stacey Young-McCaughan, RN, Ph.D., and Jim Mintz, Ph.D. STRONG STAR, an international research group led by the Health Science Center, supported this study as part of its larger effort to develop and test the best diagnoses, preventions and treatments for combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder and related conditions.
M. David Rudd, Ph.D., president of the University of Memphis, and Craig Bryan, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist at the University of Utah and executive director of the National Center for Veterans Studies, led the study.
"We're very pleased with the very positive results of this clinical trial, particularly that we've been able to develop and implement a treatment that helps improve the lives of our soldiers," Dr. Rudd said.
"The treatment is focused on how to manage stress more effectively, how to think in more helpful ways and how to remember what is meaningful in life. In essence, the soldier learns how to live a life worth living in a very short period of time," Dr. Bryan said.
"This landmark achievement is the result of several years' effort by researchers at three universities, the Department of Defense and an exceptional team of Army behavioral health providers at Fort Carson," Dr. Bryan continued. "Most importantly, we extend our sincere gratitude to those soldiers who volunteered to participate in this study. Although these soldiers did not know if they would personally benefit from participation, they nonetheless volunteered with the hope that the outcome would benefit other soldiers and service members. I think we can confidently say that they have achieved their objective."
Dr. Peterson of the UT Health Science Center added, "The excellent research partnerships between the University of Memphis, the University of Utah, the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and Evans Army Community Hospital at Fort Carson contributed to the success of this project."
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of talk therapy designed to stop ineffective and damaging patterns of thinking.
Mental illness diagnoses among active-duty U.S. military personnel rose by more than 60 percent during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with a similar increase in rates of suicide and suicide attempts, the researchers wrote.
"The significant increase in military suicides over the past decade is a national tragedy," said study co-author Alan Peterson in a University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio news release. He is a professor of psychiatry at the university's School of Medicine.
The study included 152 active-duty soldiers who had attempted suicide or were considered to be at high risk for suicide. Over two years of follow-up, soldiers who received the therapy were 60 percent less likely to attempt suicide than those who received standard treatment.
"To see a 60 percent reduction in suicide attempts among at-risk active-duty soldiers after a brief intervention is truly exciting," Peterson said.
Study co-leader Craig Bryan, a clinical psychologist at the University of Utah and executive director of the National Center for Veterans Studies, explained how the treatment works.
"The treatment is focused on how to manage stress more effectively, how to think in more helpful ways and how to remember what is meaningful in life. In essence, the soldier learns how to live a life worth living in a very short period of time," Bryan said in the news release.
After finishing three tours of duty in Iraq, Jim Stanek was grateful to head home with all his limbs intact. But a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder made it difficult to live a normal life.
“I didn’t want to socialize, I had a terrible memory and my anxiety through the roof,” he recalled.
The only thing that seemed to help the 36-year-old New Mexico native calm his nerves was being around a friend’s therapy dog. So in May of 2010, he and his wife Lindsey decided to train his 5-year-old rescue mutt, Sarge, for therapy work.
The Staneks quickly learned that it can take up to two years and $60,000 to train a therapy dog properly -- big obstacles they felt, for any veteran who might benefit from having a canine partner to help cope with the psychological and physical wounds of war. They decided to start Paws and Stripes, a non-profit that matches up therapy dogs with veterans.
Stanek’s wife Lindsey said she felt they were blessed because they quickly found trainers willing to help. The next step was to search for the dogs.
Normally therapy dogs are purebreds that start training with a handler as puppies and turned over to their owners at around the age of two. But the Staneks decided to scour local shelters to look for adult mixed breed dogs that were smart, friendly and confident.
“We wanted to give veterans a dog and the dogs a second chance,” Stanek’s wife said.
They cut training time down to about nine months by matching each dog with veteran-in-need at the beginning of the process so they could learn the ropes together. They also managed to pare down the cost to just over $6,300 which they fund largely through public donations.
The dogs help their partners deal with a variety of common problems that plague returning veterans. Some dogs help deal with psychological problems like PTSD while some alert their owners to oncoming migraines or low blood sugar. Others are trained to assist their owners with physical disabilities resulting from their battle injuries.
Sarge for example, is trained to spot Stanek’s panic attacks and keep him calm.
“I can tell the rest of the world I’m doing fine but she calls me a liar by wrinkling her forehead to alert me when my anxiety is getting higher,” he explained.
Sarge has also been taught to peak around the corners when out in public, wagging her tail to give the all clear. Stanek said this helps him deal with the “dead space” he learned to fear in combat.
The American Kennel Club is supportive of the Stanek’s efforts and other programs like it. “Dogs give unconditional love and support and have an uncanny ability to detect when we are having a hard time,” said Mary Burch, an animal behaviorist and the AKC’s canine good citizen director.
The Staneks said they’ve graduated more than 50 veteran-and-dog teams throughout the country from their program. They have 600 veterans on the waiting list and hope to match each one with a dog.
Stanek for one is grateful for his relationship with Sarge.
“She makes me feel like the luckiest guy in the world,” he said. “I’d take a bullet for that dog.”
The Stanek’s efforts are chronicled on Dogs of War, a new show on A&E premiering tonight in honor of Veteran’s Day.
Military Rehabilitation Program
Serving Wounded Warriors at Sitrin
Many servicemembers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are faced with physical, psychological, and emotional changes in their lives. Sitrin is committed to serving the rehabilitation and civilian reentry needs of injured servicemembers and veterans, and has the expertise and environment to facilitate healing.
Sitrin's program is specifically designed to treat individuals with:
- Post-Traumatic Stress
- Post-Acute Substance Abuse
- Orthopedic Diagnoses
- Traumatic Brain Injuries requiring minimal supervision
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- Multiple Trauma
- Central and Peripheral Vestibular Disorders
Regimented Daily Treatment
Sitrin's post-traumatic growth program for servicemembers promotes resiliency and reintegration through a variety of daily treatment regimens, which are structured to mirror the day of an active duty service member. Daily treatment regimens incorporate a combination of therapies and activities including:
- Individual Psychology Intervention - one-on-one sessions with an experienced psychologist at least five days per week
- Group Therapy & Family Integration Therapy - sessions led by trained therapists and/or a psychologist to nurture change and development in family interaction
- Occupational Therapy - therapies tailored to individual needs, including brain fitness, anger management, relaxation training, stress management, aquatic therapy, and other treatment programs
- Physical Readiness Training - exercise focusing on strength and conditioning to reach physical fitness standards
- Speech Pathology and Audiology - evaluation and treatment of cognitive communication skills, hearing evaluations and balance assessments
- Planned Helpfulness - goal-oriented projects specific to the soldiers' interests
- Recreational Therapy – educational and leisure activities
- Massage Therapy – therapy to relieve stress and remove metabolic waste and toxins from the body
- Adaptive Sports - competitive and recreational sporting opportunities
Multidisciplinary Care Team
Sitrin's experienced comprehensive care team uses a multidisciplinary approach to help service members reach their recovery goals. The team includes:
- Physicians and a full-time Physiatrist
- Trained Rehabilitative Nurses and Certified Nurse Assistants
- Case Managers
- Physical Therapists
- Occupational Therapists
- Recreation Therapists
- Speech-Language Pathologists
- A Psychologist
- A Registered Dietician
- A Massage Therapist
- A Psychiatrist
Sitrin's Military-Civilian Coalition (MCC)
Sitrin’s Military Civilian Coalition (MCC) is designed to promote camaraderie, advocacy, educational opportunities, and transitional support to civilian life. The group meets once a month at various locations in the community and enables veterans and civilians to interact through social and athletic endeavors.
New members are welcome, especially those who are veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn. For more information or to sign-up, contact Jackie Warmuth at 737-2435.
The decision to discharge transgender soldiers from the Army would be made by a top, senior civilian official under a plan outlined in a draft document obtained by USA TODAY.
The move would make it more difficult to remove such troops from the service.
Instead of being made by lower-level Army officers, the memorandum says, the decision to discharge transgender soldiers would be made by the assistant secretary of the Army for personnel. In all services, transgender troops can be automatically dismissed from service on medical grounds once they are identified.
"Assigning responsibility for discharge decisions to a senior official would be a welcome step toward inclusive policy, but transgender troops will still have to serve in silence until more is done to dismantle the ban," said Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center, which has published research on sexual orientation issues in the military.
The Army had no comment about the memo, known as an All Army Activities directive, or the level at which decisions on dismissing transgender soldiers had been made, said Wayne Hall, an Army spokesman. Senior Defense department officials confirmed that the Army is considering the change. The new directive would expire after 12 months, or sooner, if a broader reinterpretation of the Army's rules about transgender soldiers is issued.
The Army's decision echoes the military's dismantlement of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which allowed gays and lesbians to serve unless their sexuality was discovered. Before the policy was rescinded in 2011, the decision to discharge gay troops had been raised to the Pentagon's top lawyer and personnel official and service secretaries. In effect, that requirement functioned as a moratorium, as no further dismissals were sought under "don't ask, don't tell."
"Hopefully this is a signal that the Army — and other service branches — will finally begin a comprehensive review of the regulations regarding transgender servicemembers, which everyone agrees is long overdue," said Joshua Block, who leads the American Civil Liberties Union Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project. "I also hope the 12-month time frame is an indication that the Army understands the urgency of this issue for transgender servicemembers and their commanders."
The Army memo is the latest move toward changing the Pentagon's policy toward transgender troops. Last week, the Army, for the first time, agreed to allow hormone treatment for Chelsea Manning, a transgender soldier convicted of divulging national security secrets to WikiLeaks. Manning, previously known as Bradley, is serving a 35-year sentence at the Fort Leavenworth, Kan., military prison. In December, Air Force Secretary Deborah James said the ban on transgender troops should be lifted.
In a first for the Army, Chelsea Manning, the convicted national-security secrets leaker, has been approved for hormone therapy for transition to a woman at the Army's Fort Leavenworth prison, according to a memo obtained Thursday by USA TODAY.
Manning remains a soldier as well as an inmate.
"After carefully considering the recommendation that (hormone treatment) is medically appropriate and necessary, and weighing all associated safety and security risks presented, I approve adding (hormone treatment) to Inmate Manning's treatment plan," Col. Erica Nelson, the commandant of the Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks in Kansas, wrote in a Feb. 5 memo.
Formerly named Bradley Manning, the soldier was convicted of sending classified documents to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. Manning is serving a 35-year prison sentence and is eligible for parole in about seven years.
At Manning's trial, her attorneys argued she had been disillusioned by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and believed the release of the documents, including diplomatic cables and military reports, should be seen by the public.
Manning sued the federal government for access to the treatment. The Army referred questions about Manning to the Department of Justice, which has been handling the case. Nicole Navas, a Justice Department spokeswoman, declined to comment, saying the government's position is detailed in court filings.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Manning in the case, did not have an immediate comment on the Army's memo.
Manning had asked for hormone therapy and to be able to live as a woman. Transgender individuals are not allowed to serve in the U.S. military and the Defense Department does not provide such treatment. The Department of Veterans Affairs, however, does provide the treatment for veterans.
The Army's decision means it is simply fulfilling its obligation to provide Manning with medical care, said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, an advocacy group based in Washington. Manning has been diagnosed with a medical condition, and failing to treat it would be "cruel and unusual punishment," she said.
"If she has a heart attack, they have to treat that, too," Keisling said. "This is no different."
Pete Sepp, president of the National Taxpayers Union, said Thursday that Manning's fame would allow her to collect funds for treatment privately, through fundraising.
"There are plenty of other ways to address this situation than to put taxpayers on the hook for it," he said.
It's not clear from the memo when treatment will begin. Nelson also wrote that she approved a recommendation not allowing Manning "female hair grooming" based on risk assessment.
Last month, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James told USA TODAY the ban on transgender troops is likely to be reassessed and should be lifted.
No comments:
Post a Comment