Soldier suicides on the rise ...

[michaeledward]

Look here

http://www.usmedicine.com/article.cfm?articleID=1610&issueID=102

The task force's report found that there is a shortage of active duty mental health professionals. According to the report, the Air Force lost 20 per cent of its active duty mental health professionals from FY 2003 to FY 2007, the Navy lost 15 per cent from 2003 to 2006, and the Army lost 8 per cent from FY 2003 to FY 2005.

In addition, the report found that recruiting for the military through military psychology internship programs is lagging. "A preponderance of the psychologists in uniform is drawn into the military through the psychology internship programs," the report stated. "Historically, these have been highly sought internship placements, attracting highly qualified applicants that far exceeded the number of slots available. On the site visits, the Task Force heard from Psychology Internship Coordinators that the number of highly qualified applicants had dropped dramatically. In February, the results of the national match for psychology internships were announced. The Army filled only 13 of 36 slots, while the Air Force filled only 13 of 24 slots. Given the four-year military service commitment of these interns, this shortfall in the major pipeline feeding the psychology corps will have ramifications for years to come."

or here

http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/news/mhat/mhat/mhat.cfm

http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/news/mhat/mhat/mhat_report.pdf


However, no number of practitioners is sufficient to overcome the stigma attached to mental health services within the military. Sometimes, it is safest to stay in the closet.

 

[shesulsa]

However, no number of practitioners is sufficient to overcome the stigma attached to mental health services within the military. Sometimes, it is safest to stay in the closet.

Truthfully, there is not enough practitioners sufficient ot overcome the stigma attached to mental health services OUTside the military either.

 

[Tez3]

Truthfully, there is not enough practitioners sufficient ot overcome the stigma attached to mental health services OUTside the military either.

That's true for here too. We are also getting desparately short of midwives. However we don't seem to be running short of non medical executives to 'run' the National Health Service! What we are not short of is deadly hospital bugs.One very badly wounded soldier got the MRSA bug twice in hospiyal. We don't know have any military hospitals, they were closed by the government. Sick and injured military personnel have to go to civilian hospitals which doesn't endear them to local populations as it adds to the already long waiting lists to get into hospital. Theres no good news here at all is there?

Thinking about it there is some good news, the care they receive in the first place from the military medics who battle heroically to save lives at a cost to themselves. One of our students Tony was an army medic, he's just left the army after a traumatic tour in Iraq.He dealt with the aftermath of a Royal Marine boat being blown up in his first couple of days out there and it went from there.When he came back of tour he had a long talk with our instructor who is an ex Army spec forces medic and put in to leave the army. We put him in for an MMA fight (he'd already had a couple before he'd left) which enabled him to get some of out of his system but the army offered him no counselling, nothing so this was the best he got. As he says he throws up now at the smell of bacon cooking and the smell of diesel. he can't fill his car up without having flashbacks.

Sometime ago my instructor brought his laptop in, on it was a slideshow from an American Marine medical team. It srill makes me cry when I think about it. It starts with a helicopter landing and stretchers coming off, then it goes, picture by picture through the casualties being treated. You cannot imagine how horrific this is, it's a nightmare. There's the young men and women of the medical team treating the soldiers ( I assume the are Marines) with skill and stoic cheerfullness, I won't describe the injuries as I don't know who may read this and I'd hate for anyone to recognise a loved one from the injuries. Then when you think you really cannot take anymore, your eyes are full of tears and your heart is in your throat you see the children coming in. the local children who've been caught up in the bombing. One child is swathed in dressing badly burnt with just the brown expressive eyes showing. Several slides later though you do see she survived and was a lot better. At the end of the slide show the helicopter is shown taking off and the last slide shows the treatment room with a lone medic mopping the floor with the debris strewn everywhere. Empty boots with the remains of a leg left in, dressings and blood everywhere. such was the urgency to treat all the wounded there was no time for niceties.

I think sometimes the surprise isn't that so many go to pieces or kill themselves it's that more don't after the horrors of war.