All Veterans with Invisible Wounds Should Receive High-Quality Care
Invisible wounds refer to the cognitive and emotional behaviors associated with trauma. This includes conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Many veterans suffer from invisible wounds years after returning home from combat. Unfortunately, many of these wounds never fully heal. Even though you can’t see them the way you can see the physical wounds a veteran might have, invisible wounds have a major impact on individuals experiencing them.
This Year More Than Ever, We Should Celebrate Pride
Because of the current political situation, you might not be in the mood to celebrate, but Pride Month is more important than ever. Fear, anger and bigotry might be sweeping the U.S., but we can’t let it stop us. LGBTQ+ individuals and allies must continue to assert the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. This Pride Month, we wanted to share some resources that can help LGBTQ+ people in Virginia (and nationwide) celebrate their pride and get help if they need it.
The Importance of PTSD and Brain Injury Awareness
Although we’ve come a long way when it comes to PTSD awareness, there are still a lot of misunderstandings about what the condition is and what can cause it. There is also a lack of awareness of the impacts of brain injuries. This PTSD Awareness Month, we want to bring attention to these two related conditions.
The Many Faces of PTSD
This article was written by the staff of the Region Five Crisis Call Center: Tim Griffin,  Shelley Shelton, Casey Mewborn, and Staci Young. As we enter June, which is PTSD awareness month, let’s take a moment to discuss the many ways and forms that PTSD can present....
Making Mental Health Care Accessible For Everyone This Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM), a time dedicated to raising awareness about mental health. It’s a time that we can all come together to talk about how mental health and the stigma that still surrounds it impacts our communities, as well as how we can stay mentally healthy. It’s also the perfect time to talk about how we can make mental health care more accessible in our country and in our local communities.
How Do We Reduce the Stigma of Mental Health in 2023?
We can improve the outlook for mental health in our families, communities, and across the nation by reducing the stigma that prevails today. We can be successful at making this happen in 2023 by gaining personal knowledge, awareness, educating others, and by supporting mental health care. Â
Alcohol Abuse and Veterans: Larry Veale’s Story
In this video, Larry Veale, a Peer Support Specialist with Western Tidewater Community Services Board and former U.S. Marine, shares his recovery story with us. Larry’s experience taught him how important it is to have support when going through recovery. He realized that recovery was something that he couldn’t do alone. He says it “took a 12-step program and another person that had my best interest in heart to give me some direction.” Now, as a Peer Support Specialist, Larry is that person for others who are ready to recover and take back their lives.
Caring for the Caregivers: Burnout in Public Mental Health Care Professionals
Professionals working in mental health have been in a state of burnout since COVID. When the pandemic hit, the need for essential critical healthcare providers dramatically ramped up. The resulting emotional toll continues to make its mark today, and it especially affects public behavioral health care clinicians who are vulnerable to burnout due to the intensity of the job itself. With our mental health caregivers already subject to burnout, and continuously in high demand, we must ask who is caring for our caregivers? Who is looking out for those caring for others? Â
Veterans and Alcohol Abuse – Why We Need Better Supports in Place
There are a lot of things that military personnel face while in the military, and after they get out, that are never dealt with. This leads to veterans seeking alternative ways to manage and self-medicate themselves to avoid dealing with the deeper issues.Â
4 Ways That Trauma-focused Therapy Is Different From Regular Mental Health Counseling
Trauma-focused therapy, also known as trauma-informed therapy, recognizes that traumatic experiences in the lives of clients have an impact on their current mental, behavioral, emotional and even physical wellbeing. This could be trauma that happened recently or a while ago – it can even be trauma that happened in childhood. Mental health conditions experienced in adulthood are sometimes due to unresolved childhood trauma.Â