Psychological rehabilitation for US veterans

Abstract

The cycle of military deployment can be a stressful experience that is associated with a number of adverse impacts. This chapter details psychological stressors and their sequelae during the cycles of deployment, beginning with pre-deployment stressors, followed by stressors that occur in the military theater of deployment, and finally focusing on post-deployment mental-health issues. During the pre-deployment phase, the service member often is attempting to handle multiple competing social, vocational, and emotional demands. Family responsibilities and pressures often mount during this time. To prepare for stressors that may be faced in the military theater, service members may undergo resiliency training. While in the war theater, service members may face a host of stressful experiences, including military combat. The psychological impact of these stressors, while apparent at times during deployment, may not be fully felt until the service member has returned from deployment. After deployment, service members may seek and receive treatment for a number of mental-health conditions, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, substance abuse, and adjustment following traumatic brain injury (TBI). This chapter outlines the various ways that these conditions are being addressed among post-deployed service members in the USA © 2010 Springer-Verlag New York.