Just a quick note to mention that Todd Bowers, Director of Government Affairs at the highly pro-active Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America ("IAVA") recently testified before the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee of Health about an additionally important topic: the mental health of veterans' family members. The topic? "Mental Health Treatment for Families: Supporting Those Who Support Our Veterans" -- that would make a great slogan. (A few days later, the Christian Science Monitor also covered this topic, in an article entitled, "A New Push to Help Families of Veterans." That article is linked here.)
It's no secret though perhaps it should get much more attention that combat trauma affects not only veterans but also those in their immediate families. A veteran's suffering affects his or her family members significantly, as the burden of caregiving falls most strongly on the veteran's immediate family. There are physical, emotional, social and financial costs to caregiving, not the least of which is strained mental health. At least with Vietnam veterans, studies have shown that children of veterans with PTSD are at increased risk for suicide themselves. (Although it's the subject of some controversy, an Australian government study of their own Vietnam veterans concluded that children of veterans were three times as likely as the general population to commit suicide.) It's great to see that the IAVA is making the case that more resources need to be allocated for families' mental health resources as well. For more information on this important topic, see the IAVA blog entry linked here, or the House subcomittee's site, linked here. For a link to the audio coverage of the hearings, click here. For earlier blog posts on caring for the caregivers, click here; or about the family, click here.
Editor's Note: It's interesting to note that just today, the Australian government published its conclusion, that counseling services would be made available to their veterans and families. To read more about it, download this PDF. To learn more about the Australian Vietnam veterans health studies, click this link to a subsequent blog post.
