Discussion: Needs of Active Duty and Veterans Prior to Deployment-wk7-6212

 

Imagine the challenges of everyday life and how hard it can be to leave them behind when you go to work. Now, imagine those challenges staying with you in a high-stress environment like a combat zone. Many service members may deploy to a combat zone with factors that will continue to affect their treatment options upon return. For example, service members may deploy with an unstable marriage or may have teenage children who are acting out at school. They may have had a death in the immediate family, and yet they still have to deploy. It could be that they have never been treated for a prior mental health issue. Understanding these types of factors will inform your practice. This Discussion opens a dialogue to how to recognize and account for those factors.

To prepare for this Discussion, read through the resources this week and familiarize yourself with the factors that inform treatment options.

Post(2 to 3 pages) an explanation of how one factor of your choosing that informs treatment options could be mitigated prior to deployment.

 

Required Readings

Currier, J. M., Holland, J. M., & Drescher, K. D. (2014). Residential treatment for combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder: Identifying trajectories of change and predictors of treatment response. Public Library of Science One, 9(7), e101741. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0101741
Department of Veterans Affairs & Department of Defense. (2017). VA/DOD clinical practice guideline for the management of posttraumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder. Retrieved from https://www.healthquality.va.gov/guidelines/MH/ptsd/VADoDPTSDCPGFinal  
Polusny, M. A., Kumpula, M. J., Meis, L. A., Erbes, C. R., Arbisi, P. A., Murdoch, M., … Johnson, A. K. (2014). Gender differences in the effects of deployment-related stressors and pre-deployment risk factors on the development of PTSD symptoms in National Guard Soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 49, 1–9. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2013.09.016
Xue, C., Ge, Y., Tang, B., Liu, Y., Kang, P., Wang, M., & Zhang, L. (2015). A meta-analysis of risk factors for combat-related PTSD among military personnel and veterans. Public Library of Science One, 10(3), e0120270. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.012027
Hoggatt, K. J., Prescott, M. R., Goldmann, E., Tamburrino, M., Calabrese, J. R., Liberzon, I., & Galea, S. (2015). The prevalence and correlates of risky driving behavior among National Guard soldiers. Traffic Injury Prevention,16(1), 17–23. 10.1080/15389588.2014.896994
Koffel, E., Polusny, M. A., Arbisi, P. A., & Erbes, C. R. (2013). Pre-deployment daytime and nighttime sleep complaints as predictors of post-deployment PTSD and depression in National Guard troops. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 27(5), 512–519. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.07.003