"Thanks again for inviting me to speak. It was a great event. I really enjoyed it.”Thank you for your interest in the 2016 "Where Research Meets the Road" symposium.
- style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Goals and Agenda
- style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Gallery
- style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Movies & Presentations
- style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Surveys
- style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Questions and Answers
Published researchers and experts studying Veterans participated in a series of presentations and panels with veteran service providers on February 18, 2016 in the main auditorium (S100) of the Round Rock TAMHSC campus.
target="_blank">fill out our survey, please take a moment to do so. We'll sincerely appreciate it. It helps us demonstrate the value of the Symposium to our sponsors, and we'll use your feedback make the next Symposium even better.
target="_blank">http://ht.ly/YrHtt – or you can view individual presentations with the links below.
| Title | Link | Presentation (ppt) | Presentation (pdf) |
| "Where Research Meets the Road" intro and Dr. Donovan's presentation on TAMHSC | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmcY6ApD7i4 |  |  |
| Army Behavioral Health: Dr. Christopher Warner – Army Behavioral Health | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdK2jirF20w | | |
| Who We Study: Eric Meyer, Ph.D. – The VA Center of Excellence and mindfulness | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFOsOOVrEqc | | |
| Preserving Our Veterans: Bryann DeBeer, Ph.D. – Veteran Suicide | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiBy_uKxWIY | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Preserving our Families: Suzannah Creech, Ph.D. | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hnKjQgVkmQ | | |
| Perserving Their Hearts: Sheila Frankfurt, Ph.D. – Moral injury research | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdbLCMg-MUc | Unavailable | Unavailable |
| Dr. Copeland – Researchers and Studies | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvrTl8EQYsQ | | |
| Lily Casura: The Homeless Women Veterans Project | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoFWyQA_nM8 | Unavailable | Unavailable |
target="_blank"> http://goo.gl/forms/ibKDdH0XNk (or see below)
There were unanswered questions during the panel discussion. As researchers answer these (they were collected and forwarded), we post them here:
Q: As a vet who has gone through stages of acceptance/denial and everything in between, I am very familiar with the facts in your presentation. I have recently come across a therapeutic approach that overcomes most of a vet's reasons not to seek treatment. It also encompasses the four pieces of "Therapy Outcomes." Horse therapy! The people at ROCK Healing Through Horses in Georgetown, TX, although they are occupational therapists, are healing several veterans' mental health wounds. Is there an initiative to seek/explore the medicinal attributes of horse therapy? If not, will there be resistance in carrying one out?
Answer: The Army, especially our WTUs, have been supportive of equine therapy for quite some time. There is an Army Medical Command Policy that supports participation in animal assisted therapies including equine and there are partnerships in place in multiple locations.
Q: Does PTSD increase as command changes to "unknown" or "bad" leadership?
Answer: There is no good data to answer that question at this time. What we do know is that at the time of the traumatic event, if the service members perceive they have good leadership then they tend to have lower levels of PTSD.
Q: Are there plans to create staggered change of command/responsibility so that there is continuity of trusted leadership at all phases of command transition?
Answer: The Army has already created policies to assist in this process including mandating a period of stabilization for both Soldiers and leaders upon return; however, there are instances where this is waived.
Q: I find it concerning that the DOD employs more LMSW/LCSW instead of LPCs that have more clinical/psychopathology-based training. Do you know why this is?
Answer: At this time, DoD requires our independently privileged providers to hold either a doctoral level degree (MD, DO, Psy.D., Ph.D. Psychology, DNP) or have an MSW with licensed certification. A number of facilities have hired LPCs but they work under the supervision of a privileged provider.
Q: You mentioned in one of your slides that there is an "explosion of unique, local solutions." What are some of these from outside of Texas that have worked? Also, how lacking are civilian mental health providers with knowledge of military trauma?
Answer: Those local solutions were studied and part of our standardization process was to refine into large scale solutions for example our embedded behavioral health program, the behavioral health in primary care, the comprehensive soldier resiliency program, the wellness center initiatives, etc. The problem that I was discussing about the numerous local solutions was that you might have 20-25different resiliency programs and it made it difficult for continuity if you moved from one location to another. As for the issue of civilian providers with knowledge of military trauma, several key behavioral health organizations and societies have noted concern about a lack of military/veteran cultural competence. There are a number of initiatives ongoing to assist with this including online training programs and some upcoming textbooks. Additionally, several organizations offer symposiums to provide a better level of understanding about the unique aspects of this subpopulation as well.