Presentation Script:
The United States military is one of the largest and most renowned military systems in the world, making it admired by hundreds of countries. Throughout the years, the U.S military has increased the healthcare it provides to servicemembers through organizations like the Veterans Association and the Department of Defense. However, the military does not provide an adequate number of resources or services for mental health care. As we continue to invest in our military, there needs to be a permanent longitudinal program implemented that focuses on helping service members with their mental health.
An ideal program would be readily available to all service members regardless of their ranking, service time, or type of insurance. The new program would introduce a team of psychologists who are specialized in treating trauma, PTSD, and depression to military bases. The program would also be interconnected, so soldiers may continue similar treatment plans as they travel from base to base.
In service, military members frequently experience both physical and mental traumas. While physical wounds are treated immediately, mental traumas are never addressed or forgotten about. As a result, “one in 10 combat veterans (9.9%) had attempted suicide in their lifetime” (Thomas et al., 2017, p. 1). To combat this problem, the new program proposed aims to start treating mental health struggles before they develop and build up over an individual’s time in service.
However, before this plan can be placed on foreign bases around the world, implementing it on North Carolina military bases would give the U.S military an opportunity to work out kinks in the program as well as market the program to the next generation of service members. Showing the new service members the purpose behind the new program will encourage them to utilize the program whenever they may need to in the future.
One of the many reasons why veterans do not seek out mental health care is due to the fact that TRICARE, the military medical insurance, does not often cover mental health care expenses. There are few facilities that will accept this type of insurance, and most individuals will only have access to TRICARE benefits while they are in active service. In this new mental health program, the only requirement to utilize this service is that the individual must have military affiliation at some point in their life.
As the US government continues to expand its military funding, investing in this program will lead to monumental strides in the quality of mental health care within the US military. If soldiers are being trained on how to take care of their physical health, why shouldn’t there be an equal level of care for their mental health as well? By working with health care professionals in North Carolina, the US military could combat the mental health struggles that come along with a military career. As a result of implementing this program, the US military would show society the importance of recognizing mental health and providing the support that people need to live a healthy lifestyle.
Thank-you
Explication of Research:
The United States military is one of the largest and most renowned military systems in the world, making it admired by hundreds of countries. Throughout the years, the U.S military has increased the healthcare it provides to servicemembers through organizations like the Veterans Association and the Department of Defense. However, the military does not provide an adequate number of resources or services for mental health care. While there are some services that are geared towards mental health, these sources are limited and not always accessible. As we continue to invest in our military, there needs to be a permanent longitudinal program implemented that focuses on helping service members with their mental health.
An ideal program would be readily available to all service members regardless of their ranking, service time, or type of insurance, and it would ensure flexible long-term, and accessible care to all members regardless of their location. The new program would introduce a team of psychologists who are specialized in treating trauma, PTSD, and depression to military bases. The program would also be interconnected, so soldiers may continue similar treatment plans as they travel from base to base. History has shown that small, successful changes at the local level are often mirrored at a larger scale in future years, which is why the implementation of this program in North Carolina could lead to monumental change in the next few years.
In service, military members frequently experience both physical and mental traumas. While physical wounds are treated immediately, mental traumas are never addressed and often forgotten. Society disregards the long-term effects of untreated mental trauma on an individual’s long-term mental health. As a result, “one in 10 combat veterans (9.9%) had attempted suicide in their lifetime” (Thomas et al., 2017, p.1). Often service members must wait until after deployments to seek mental health care, but the long period of time between the trauma and the treatment makes the rates of seeking help significantly lower. According to a study of those who were diagnosed with PTSD or depression and sought some type of treatment, treatments provided were oftentimes inadequate to what was actually needed. (Burnam et al., 2009, p. 2).
To combat this problem, the new program proposed aims to start treating mental health struggles before they develop and build up over an individual’s time in service. Mental health care should be embedded into the healthcare facility on American military bases around the world. This ensures that there is always mental health care readily available to members on long deployments across the world. Studies have shown that service members that have been on multiple deployments within a short period have a significantly increased chance of having a psychological concern (Straits-Troster et al., 2011, p. 3). As a result of implementing this program, soldiers have the option to start seeking on-base treatment while on deployment.
In addition, given that the care is provided directly by the US military itself, a certain level of flexibility is assured. The individual has the option to continue treatment for as long as they need without the difficulty of looking for another specialist or dealing with insurance providers. However, before this plan can be placed on foreign bases around the world, implementing it on North Carolina military bases would give the U.S military an opportunity to work out kinks in the program as well as market the program to the next generation of service members. Showing the new service members, the purpose behind the new program will encourage them to utilize the program whenever they may need to in the future.
Mental health stigmas have always been a barrier that prevents individuals from seeking help. Having a mental health support service readily available from the time of training to the end of a person’s lifetime gives soldiers the reassurance that it is acceptable to ask for help when it comes to mental health. Even though more people are aware of the importance of mental health care, a large percentage of the population still refuses to seek help. One reason that is particularly specific to military members is the fact that TRICARE, the military medical insurance, does not often cover mental health care expenses. There are few facilities that will accept this type of insurance, and most individuals will only have access to TRICARE benefits while they are in active service. This means that a large part of retired personnel, national guard, and deactivated service members will lose access to any care that is covered through TRICARE insurance by the end of their service, creating another expense for the individual to account for (Burnman et al., 2009, p. 7).
In this new mental health program, the only requirement to utilize this service is that the individual must have military affiliation at some point in their life. There are around 19.2 million veterans in the United States, many of which reside within the state of North Carolina (Thomas et al., 2017, p.1). North Carolina could start implementing this program on military bases within the state and help hundreds of military personnel. North Carolina could show that medical expenses don’t have to be the reason our soldiers lack the mental health care they need.
As the US government continues to expand its military funding, investing in this program will lead to monumental strides in the quality of mental health care within the US military. If soldiers are being trained on how to take care of their physical health, why shouldn’t there be an equal level of care for their mental health as well? Starting the proposed program would ensure that every individual within the military has unlimited accessible care regardless of their military status. By working with health care professionals in North Carolina, the US military could combat the mental health struggles that come along with a military career. The program’s goals would be to overcome the stigmas of mental health care and start caring for mental health before it becomes a problem. As a result of implementing this program, the US military would show society the importance of recognizing mental health and providing the support that people need to live a healthy lifestyle. Providing individuals with adequate mental health support leads to stronger and healthier individuals who can focus on their careers and live the best life that they can.
References:
Burnam, M. A., Meredith, L. S., Tanielian, T., & Jaycox, L. H. (2009). Mental health care for Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans. Health Affairs, 28(3), 771–782. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.28.3.771.
Straits-Tröster, K. A., Brancu, M., Goodale, B., Pacelli, S., Wilmer, C., Simmons, E. M., & Kudler, H. (2011). Developing community capacity to treat post-deployment mental health problems: A public health initiative. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 3(3), 283–291. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0024645.
Thomas, M. M., Harpaz-Rotem, I., Tsai, J., Southwick, S. M., & Pietrzak, R. H. (2017). Mental and physical health conditions in US combat veterans. The Primary Care Companion For CNS Disorders, 19(3). https://doi.org/10.4088/pcc.17m02118.
Trautmann, S., Goodwin, L., Höfler, M., Jacobi, F., Strehle, J., Zimmermann, P., & Wittchen, H.-U. (2016). Prevalence and severity of mental disorders in military personnel: A standardized comparison with civilians. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 26(2), 199–208. https://doi.org/10.1017/s204579601600024x.
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Eddins, J. M. (n.d.). 50 Ways the military has changed in the last 50 years. 50 ways the military has changed in the last 50 years. Stacker. Retrieved March 24, 2024, from https://stacker.com/stories/2265/50-ways-military-has-changed-last-50-years.