US Army Heads Into A Mental Health Crisis

Heading into a major mental health crisis, the US Army is falling short of enough therapists and psychiatrists for troops returning from traumatizing places like Afghanistan and Iraq.

With the base inadequately prepared for the return of troops from war and war-like locations, the soldiers in the US army face problems getting immediate and individual counseling and care, with enormous waiting periods of 2 months before they got an appointment with the psychiatrist.

The problems are not just restricted to lack of therapists. Other aspects also contribute to worsening the situation. The doctors are relying too much on group therapies, instead of providing the much required individual care. Not only that, continuous care with timely follow ups is also missing. To top it all up there is no hospital at the base, at Fort Drum, disclosed a report released in February. Around 17,000 troops are based at fort drum and 4000 deployed in Iraq.

Reports have shown a drastic increase in the number of soldiers visiting the clinic, from 14,000 in 2001; it has reached an expected 26,000 this year. In all around 30,000 soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD or depressiondefine or similar symptoms.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, can result from wartime trauma such as wounds or witnessing others being hurt. Symptoms include irritability or outbursts of anger, sleep difficulties, trouble concentrating, extreme vigilance and an exaggerated startle response.

However making it a little easy on the troops the defense department has urged them to come forth with their mental problems without fearing any effect on their careers.

Defense secretary Robert gates recently announced a new policy for soldiers as per which it would not be mandatory to reveal previous mental health treatment unless it was court-ordered or involved violence.

There are various reasons why soldiers in the US army opt against seeking help from a psychiatrist. Some of these include, embarrassment, fear of jeopardizing their career, fear of peers losing confidence in them and treating them differently, considering their psychological problem as a weakness.

A lot needs to be done in this arena by the higher ups of the army and those in the government, lest the soldiers loose their confidence, both in themselves and the organization.