Not sure of the point of this post.....But I have no problem with the mental health outreach by the VA.
I think it's a worthy goal. On Tue, Nov 13, 2012 at 3:40 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected]>wrote: > EXECUTIVE ORDER > IMPROVING ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR VETERANS, SERVICE > MEMBERS, AND MILITARY FAMILIES > There have many stories on how veterans have been “helped” by the VA > and other hospitals. It’s the kind of help no one wants. > Mr. Obama wants to see by the end of this year, a full 50% increase in > Veteran Crisis Line employees. And the funny thing about governments, > they want to see a return on investment. Even if they are running at a > loss. > Further, veterans can let someone know they are having problems by > using insecure means of communication such as phone texts and online > chats. > Sec. 2. Suicide Prevention. (a) By December 31, 2012, the Department > of Veterans Affairs, in continued collaboration with the Department of > Health and Human Services,shall expand the capacity of the Veterans > Crisis Line by 50 percent to ensure that veterans have timely access, > including by telephone, text, or online chat, to qualified, caring > responders who can help address immediate crises and direct veterans > to appropriate care. > Further, the Department of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that any > veteran identifying him or herself as being in crisis connects with a > mental health professional or trained mental health worker within 24 > hours. The Department of Veterans Affairs also shall expand the number > of mental health professionals who are available to see veterans > beyond traditional business hours. > The government will also being hiring 2,400 counselors and mental > health professionals, many who would start at about $80k a year, and > would pay off the new employees’ student loans to make this all > happen. Student loans for such professionals would range between > $150,000 to $200,000. > Sec. 4. Expanded Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services > Staffing. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, by December 31, > 2013, hire and train 800 peer to peer counselors to empower veterans > to support other veterans and help meet mental health care needs. In > addition, the Secretary shall continue to use all appropriate tools, > including collaborative arrangements with community based providers, > pay setting authorities, loan repayment and scholarships, and > partnerships with health care workforce training programs to > accomplish the Department of Veterans Affairs’ goal of recruiting, > hiring, and placing 1,600 mental health professionals by June 30, > 2013. > But the real issue at hand here is one that is generated by the VA > themselves, and not through the “moral weakness” of the veteran. > Suicide is a very serious issue. There are very few people who have > not been affected by a suicide by a family member, friend, or > acquaintance. But many suicides by veterans are preventable. > In a 2004 study (Carr, Hoge, Gardner, & Potter, 2004) it was found by > reviewing non-official records that there were 17% more military > suicides and 4% more military deaths that were suspicious for suicide > than what was reported in the official records. Deaths apparently > hidden to hide a serious problem. > And the media does not help the matter. A 2011 study(Edwards-Stewart, > Kinn, June, & Fullerton, 2011) found that the media violated > established guidelines in nearly all of the 240 reviewed stories from > 15 different sources. Stories of suicides by US Service Members > included “more pejorative language and discussion of failed > psychological treatment. Conversely, civilian articles romanticized > the victim and provided more details regarding the suicide.” > A 2012 Study (Hyman, Ireland, Frost, & Cottrell, 2012) showed that: > “Additional research needs to address the increasing rates of suicide > in active duty personnel. This should include careful evaluation of > suicide prevention programs and the possible increase in risk > associated with SSRIs and other mental health drugs, as well as the > possible impact of shorter deployments, age, mental health diagnoses, > and relationship problems.” Emphasis added. > > Feeding the veteran’s mental health problem is the VA themselves. It > has been reported since before 2006 that antidepressants, the “Go To” > drug for suicide prevention, have caused people to commit suicide. The > Food and Drug Administration noted in September 2004 that such drugs > may increase suicidal thoughts or behaviors in children and teenagers. > The human brain does not stop developing until middle age. Well within > the age ranges to be affected by antidepressants provided after being > discharged by the military and provided help by the VA. > The drugs on the list that have been shown to increase suicidal > tendencies include: > Celexa (citalopram) Effexor (venlafaxine) Lexapro (escitalopram) > Luvox (fluvoxamine) Paxil (paroxetine) Prozac (fluoxetine) > Remeron (mirtazapine) Serzone (nefazodone) Wellbutrin, Zyban > (bupropion) > Zoloft (sertraline) > Of these, only Lexapro, Luvox, and Serzone are not in the current VA > drug formulary. Bupropion is the first line smoking cessation > medication used by VA and civilian doctors as well. > Celexa has a dirty and questionable past. It was revealed in 2011 > Forest Pharmaceuticals paid the principal investigator of a federally > funded antidepressant drug study to fix the results in favor of > Celexa. > But the most amazing part of all this is the VA insistence that > antidepressants are safe. From the study (Gibbons, Brown, Hur, Marcus, > Bhaumik, & Mann, 2007): > CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that SSRI treatment has a > protective effect in all adult age groups. They do not support the > hypothesis that SSRI treatment places patients at greater risk of > suicide. > The President wants to help veterans. The best way he can is to cancel > this order, and demand that Veterans are provided more cognitive > therapy and less medication. And leave office. > > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
