Depression in Female Veterans Returning from Deployment: The Role of Social Factors

Holly Sairsingh, Phyllis Solomon, Amy Helstrom, and Dan Treglia

The authors surveyed 128 female veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn. They found no link between combat exposure and depressive symptoms , and social support did not affect this relationship. However, their analyses revealed that lower levels of depression were related to higher levels of social support and financial comfort.

 

Associations Between Posttraumatic Stress and Legal Charges Among Substance Using Veterans

Diana Bennett, David Morris, Minden Sexton, Erin Bonar, and Stephen Chermack

In a sample of 697 veterans with a history of trauma exposure who were seeking VA specialty mental health care, post-traumatic stress symptoms were associated with violent legal charges among veterans, but not with non-violent charges. The relationship exceeded those related to age, sex, race, heavy alcohol use, and cocaine use. Intrusive symptoms were particularly associated with violent crimes.

 

Healing from Moral Injury: A Qualitative Evaluation of the Impact of Killing Treatment for Combat Veterans

Phillip Fucella, Natalie Purcell, Kristine Burkman, Jessica Keyser, and Shira Maguen

The treatment program Impact of Killing (IOK) helps veterans process the moral and post-traumatic stress of having killed in combat. The authors interviewed 28 veterans who completed the course and learned that this was the first time any of the veterans had processed their moral injuries. They found that IOK helped veterans accept their emotions around killing, think about their beliefs concerning killing, and move towards acceptance and self-forgiveness.

 

Psychosocial Risk Factors and Other than Honorable Military Discharge: Providing Healthcare to Previously Ineligible Veterans

Eric Elbogen, Ryan Wagner, Mira Brancu, Nathan Kimbrel, Jennifer Naylor, Cindy Swinkels, and John Fairbank

In an evaluation completed by the VA, 1,172 veterans were surveyed, 2.7 percent of which had received an ‘other than honorable’ (OTH) discharge. In comparison to those discharged under honorable conditions, veterans with OTH discharge statuses were more likely to have lower levels of social support, be younger, have sleep problems, have a family history of drug abuse and depression, have higher scores on drug misuse measures, have a history of incarceration, and meet the major depressive disorder diagnostic criteria. Further analysis revealed that OTH status was associated with drug misuse and incarceration as well.

 

Presumed Structural and Functional Neural Recovery After Long-Term Abstinence from Cocaine in Male Military Veterans

Qinghua He, Xiaolu Huang, Ofir Turel, Marya Schulte, David Huang, April Thames, Antoine Bechara, and Yih-Ing Hser

The preliminary study focused on 39 male veterans who had been addicted to cocaine but had maintained a period of sobriety ranging between 1 and 30 years. In the wake of abstinence, brain recovery primarily occurred in the neural systems associated with reward, craving, and inhibitory control. Decision-making neural systems improved to a lesser extent. Findings indicate that male veterans who previously used cocaine experience a higher risk of lapses in judgment and decision-making in the long term as compared to non-users, which may put them at a higher risk of relapse.

 

Differences by Veteran/Civilian Status and Gender in Associations Between Childhood Adversity and Alcohol and Drug Use Disorders

Elizabeth Evans, Dawn Upchurch, Tracy Simpson, Alison Hamilton, and Katherine Hoggatt

Using data from the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC-III), the study analyzed data from more than 3,000 veterans and 33,000 civilians. Male and female veterans had similar proportions of alcohol and drug use disorders, and childhood adversity heightened the risk of alcohol use disorders for male veterans. E xperiencing childhood adversity increased the proportion of civilian women with an alcohol use disorder to match that of the proportion of veteran women with alcohol use disorder.

Combat Stress Magazine

The American Institute of Stress

The Combat Stress magazine recently released its fall 2018 issue, which contains articles on veteran suicide and moral injury. The magazine aims to help veterans and their families cope and manage the stress of the military life in their own ways. Previous issues of Combat Stress are also available through the link above.

2018 Veterans Day Poster

Department of Veterans Affairs

This poster is free to the public and is a creative way of advertising the upcoming Veterans Day (November 11). The work of art won the VA’s annual competition. Past winning art can be seen here .

Treating the Opioid Crisis Part 1 - Podcast

National Drug Court Resource Center

Join the National Drug Court Resource Center and host, Anna Koozmin, as she interviews treatment court teams in Great Falls, Montana, a town at the center of the opioid crisis. Learn about the opioid epidemic through the lens of a veterans and a drug treatment team in the three-part series.

 

Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive – Live Webinar – November 8

TAPS Institute for Hope and Healing

In this free webinar, grief and resilience expert Allison Gilbert will teach viewers ways of remembering and celebrating their loved ones who have passed on. Her strategies come from her book, Passed and Present: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive . This webinar may be a valuable tool for those suffering from grief or working with those who are.

 

After an Overdose Death: Understanding Your Grief – Live Webinar – December 11

TAPS Institute for Hope and Healing

This free webinar is aimed at helping family and friends process the overdose death of a loved one. It proposes answers to some of the tough questions that come with deaths related to substance abuse. Furthermore, it dives into survivors’ grief and loss of losing someone twice: once to substance abuse and chronic illness and then again to overdose.

 

VetStory – Podcast

ConnectingVets.com

This podcast focuses on telling the previously untold stories of veterans, both on and off the field of combat. Sometimes uproariously funny and sometimes moving, these podcasts cover history, modern issues, and military life through the eyes of veterans.

 

Make the Connection – Video Gallery

Make the Connection is a website that offers resources to veterans, their families, and clinicians. In addition to web and print-based resources on mental health, finances, homelessness, spirituality, and employment, Make the Connection offers 740 short videos with advice for veterans and their families in almost any situation in life.

 

Connecting Veterans - Reuniting Thousands of Old Friends

VetFriends

Similar to Facebook, this site specializes in helping veterans reconnect with service buddies, all the way from the Vietnam era to the present. With more than 2.5 million members, the site is also a resource for military records, upcoming events, photos, stories, etc.

Veteran comic artists and writers? There are more than you think

Congress Mulls Expanding Telehealth to Help Veterans with PTSD

 

Cherokee Veterans Visit DC War Memorials

2018 Veterans Day Deals, Discounts and Freebies

 

VA’s “Warrior to Soul Mate” Program for Couples



Make Plans! Upcoming Events Notice

 

December 4: San Diego, CA: Certificate of Veterans Service Provider (CVSP) Training (Operation College Promise

December 5-9: Devens, MA: The Power Breath Meditation Workshop: Cities across the US through January 2019  

December 13: Orlando, FL: Orlando Veterans Job Fair

November Events

November 2–3: Austin, TX: All African American Community Flight

November 3: Kemah, TX: 2018 DAV 5K National Series

November 3: Tulsa, OK: 2018 DAV 5K National Series

November 4: Newport News, VA: 2018 DAV 5K National Series

November 5: New York, NY: 8th Annual Veteran Symposium (Veterans on Wall Street)

November 6-8: Orange Beach, AL: AVAA 2018 Training Conference (Alabama Veterans Affairs Association)

November 9 – 11: Charles City, VA: Mid-Atlantic Shooting Sports Tournament and Handgun Shoot (Paralyzed Veterans National Shooting Sports Circuit – Paralyzed Veterans of America)

November 9-12: Moab, UT: Rock Climbing and Mountain Biking

November 10: Circleville, OH: Dan Fout Memorial Hunt

November 10: Gardiner, NY: Fall VetFest Rock Climbing

November 10: Atlanta, GA: 2018 DAV 5K National Series

November 10: Boston, MA: 2018 DAV 5K National Series

November 10: Cincinnati, OH: 2018 DAV 5K National Series

November 11: Arlington, VA: National Veterans Day Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery

November 13: Newport Beach, CA: Fletcher Jones Motor Patriots Promise 2018

(Veterans Legal Institute )

November 13-17: San Antonio, TX: The Power Breath Meditation Workshop

November 14-18: Columbus, OH: The Power Breath Meditation Workshop (Women Vets)

November 26-30: Washington, D.C.: The Power Breath Meditation Workshop

November 29-December 2: Las Vegas, NV: Nevada Bowling Tournament (Paralyzed Veterans of America)

To submit content for the next issue of this newsletter, please email [email protected] with "Veterans’ Justice and Mental Health Newsletter” in the subject line.