Hidden Battles on Unseen Fronts

by Patricia Driscoll

  2. DECIDING WHO IS SANE ENOUGH TO FIGHT

  Alice Psirakis, LCSW, has worked for the United States Army Reserve from 1999–2008 as a Medical Service Corps Social Worker. She was mobilized for Operation Enduring Freedom from 2004–2007 to serve as Chief of Behavioral Health Services at Fort Dix, NJ. She currently serves as Director, Veterans and Families Initiative, Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services, developing a mental health program for OIF/OEF veterans and their families in the Bronx, NY. She is also an Adjunct Instructor at St John’s University, Queens, in the Department of Sociology.

  4. AMERICA KEEPS ITS PROMISE

  Colonel Christopher S. Williams is the Senior Executive Director for Traumatic Brain Injury at the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury. He is a 1976 graduate of Southwestern Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy. He received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1980. Dr. Williams completed a Master of Public Health degree at Harvard University School of Public Health in 1993. He has completed residencies in Aerospace Medicine and Neurology, and a fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology.

  6. HEALING THE HUMAN SPIRIT, HOUR BY HOUR

  Barbara Romberg, MD, President and Founder of Give an Hour, is a licensed clinical psychologist practicing in the Washington, DC area for 16 years, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of children. She served as an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University, where she participated in the training and supervision of developing clinicians. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland in 1991, her MA in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland in 1987, and her BA, summa cum laude, in psychology from California State College in 1982.

  8. THE VA’S SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE

  Janet Kemp, RN, PhD, has had over 20 years experience working with veterans. She currently is the Associate Director for Education and Training at the VISN 2 Center of Excellence (COE) in Canandaigua NY. She also serves as the VA National Suicide Prevention Coordinator. In her Center role she is responsible for provider and patient education in the areas of suicide awareness and prevention, current assessment and treatment strategies, and new findings in the area of suicide and assisting the Center Director in the implementation of Suicide Prevention Programs throughout the VA system. In the National Suicide Prevention Coordinator Lead position, Dr. Kemp directs and advises the suicide prevention coordinators at each local VA and is the national program manager for the VA Suicide Hotline.

  10. THE EXPERT CONSULTANTS: OUR PATIENTS

  Kelly Petska, PhD, is a licensed staff psychologist in the Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program (PTRP) on the Polytrauma Team at the Minneapolis VAMC. She works primarily with veterans and active duty servicemen/women who have experienced multiple injuries including Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), physical injuries, cognitive impairments, and psychological/emotional stressors. Her primary duties at the VA include psychotherapy for groups, individuals, and couples, psychological evaluations, and psychological testing. Clinical areas of interest include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anger issues, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and emotion regulation. Dr. Petska is also interested in treatment assessment and outcome measures.

  Don MacLennan, MA, CCC, is a speech pathologist at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. He helped establish the first traumatic brain injury team at that facility in 1984. Currently he works in the Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program (PTRP), a program designed to help people with brain injury regain independence within the community, including return to work or school. His primary duties include provision of group and individual therapies aimed at improving functional cognitive and communication skills. He works collaboratively with program participants and their families to develop cognitive strategies that will support everyday activities for participants with brain injury. He also provides a simulated college experience to prepare young men and women with brain injury for post-secondary education.

  12. THE WEAPON OF CHOICE—PATIENCE

  Dr. Charles West, a psychologist by training, has for over twenty years worked with psychologically traumatized individuals in hospital and community treatment settings. After a three-year stint in Beijing, China as a psychologist consultant to the expatriate community there, he has for the past ten years broadened his background of working with people with psychiatric disabilities to include persons who have diverse cultural orientations and experience. Early in his career, he worked with veterans who served in Vietnam, and has more recently been directing a team that provides psychological support services to civilian contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan. In his role with the disability-focused organization, TecAccess, Dr. West has designed behavioral health support services for veterans with disabilities who are re-entering the civilian work force.

  14. I JUST WANT TO BE BACK IN IRAQ

  Alice Psirakis, a licensed clinical social worker, is director of the Veterans and Families Initiative at the Center for Trauma Program Innovation of the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services in New York City. She is also an adjunct instructor St. John’s University. (See Chapter 2 for her further biography.)

  16. WINNING HIDDEN BATTLES

  Bill Yamanaka works in the communications office on the staff of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Health Protection and Readiness. As such, he also supported the Defense Centers of Excellence in their communications office. He has a professional background of more than 25 years in the public affairs and strategic communications arena for multiple Defense organizations, the private sector, and as a career Public Affairs Officer in the US Navy. Prior to this health affairs contract work with the Wexford Group International, a CACI company, Bill was a US Army civilian in the Pentagon as the Team Chief for personnel issues in the Operational Planning Division of Army Public Affairs.

  18. THE REAL STORY BEHIND YOUR STORY

  Rick Levy, PhD, a licensed psychologist in private practice serving an international clientele, has been a pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine since 1976. His groundbreaking work has been featured in various media, including Prime Time Live, FOX News, ABC Radio & Washingtonian Magazine. As a respected clinician and proponent of state-of-the-art mind-body medicine, Dr. Levy has consulted with numerous health organizations, universities, government agencies, the US Congress, and international peacekeeping organizations. Dr. Levy has also served as Chair of the Greater Washington Association for the Advancement of Psychology, Legislative Affairs Chairman of the District of Columbia Psychological Association, and as a member of the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Joint Hospital Privileges Task Force. Dr. Levy was awarded a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Duquesne University in 1976.

  20. A VETERANS’ GUIDE TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN THE VHA

  Dr. Ira Katz is currently Deputy Chief Patient Care Services Officer for Mental Health. He comes to his VA position after serving as Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Geriatric Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, as well as Director of the Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center of the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. He was principal investigator of a NIMH-supported Advanced Center for Interventions and Services Research that investigated depression in late life and psychiatric-medical comorbidity. Over the past several years, his research has focused on the integration of mental health services with primary care, and area of major importance to the VA. He has served on numerous professional and scientific societies including the Aging Committee of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, the Public Policy Committee of the Gerontology Society of America, the History Committee of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the Committee of Long Term Care and Treatment for the Elderly, and the Board of Directors of the American Geriatrics Society. He is past President of the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry, and an associate editor fo
r the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

  Dr. Bradley E. Karlin is Director of Psychotherapy and Psychogeriatrics for the Department of Veterans Affairs, in the VA’s Central Office in Washington, DC. He has national responsibility for implementing, overseeing, and evaluating national mental health programs in evidence-based psychotherapy and geriatric mental health care. Dr. Karlin has been actively involved in transforming mental health care in the Veterans Health Administration, and is also Adjunct Associate Professor at the Erickson School of Aging Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Dr. Karlin serves as the Secretary of the Society of Clinical Geropsychology of the American Psychological Association. He is also Past Convener of the Mental Health Practice and Aging Formal Interest Group of the Gerontological Society of America and Past Chair of the Public Policy Committee of Psychologists In Long Term Care. Dr. Karlin received his BA in political science and sociology from the University of Michigan, graduating with highest distinction and Phi Beta Kappa. He received his MS and PhD in clinical psychology, from Texas A&M University, where he also completed proficiency in clinical geropsychology. Dr. Karlin completed a clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship in clinical geropsychology at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System. He is a licensed clinical psychologist with special clinical interests in depression, grief and loss, general anxiety, and geropsychology. Dr. Karlin has numerous publications, presentations, and government briefings related to geriatric mental health care access, utilization, and policy.

  22. WHY ARE YOU SO ANGRY, MOMMY?

  Michael Genhart, PhD, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in San Francisco and Mill Valley, CA. He sees children, adolescents, adults, and couples in his clinical work and provides supervision in local training institutions. Previously, he was Director of Training, Child and Family Therapy at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and worked as a psychologist at the Adolescent Day Treatment Center and the Ann Martin Children’s Center.

  24. THE MENTAL TRANSCEIVER

  Norman McCormack retired in 2006 after 25 years with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Vet Center program. Norm holds a Masters Degree in Guidance Counseling and a Master of Public Administration degree both through the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Since 1988 Norm has been adjunct faculty at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, where he teaches courses in the behavioral sciences and in management. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, having served on active duty from April of 1969 through April of 1972.

  26. THE FACES BEHIND THE FILES

  Barbara Sigford, MD, PhD, is the VHA National Program Director for Physical and Medicine Rehabilitation (PM&R). She is field based in Minneapolis where she also serves as the Director of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation for the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. In her role as National Director of PM&R, she provides national leadership in the VA for Polytrauma and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) rehabilitation programs and services. In her role as Director of PM&R at the Minneapolis VAMC she has taken a leadership role in the establishment of the Minneapolis Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center; the Polytrauma Network Site; the Transitional Rehabilitation Unit; and development of community extended care services for veterans with polytrauma and TBI. She serves as the Clinical Co-Coordinator for the newly established Polytrauma/Blast Related Injury QUERI. From 1999 until 2005, she served as the Director of the CARF accredited Traumatic Brain Injury Program and Comprehensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Program at the Minneapolis VAMC. Dr. Sigford is a Clinical Assistant Professor in PM&R at the University of Minnesota. Her primary clinical and research interests are in the area of traumatic brain injury rehabilitation.

  28. FAMILIES OF HONOR

  Mary Car-Blanchard, OTD, OTR/L, is an independent medical writer, presenter, and consultant with extensive experience in the field of Traumatic Brain Injury and a broad knowledge of medical topics, having worked in the health care field for over 20 years. She is the Former Administrator of Information and Resources for the Brain Injury Association of America and served as an occupational therapist on a TBI neurorehabilitation team. Dr. Car-Blanchard’s written work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, national health awareness campaigns, website content, and medical brochures. She previously worked as an occupational therapist on a brain injury rehabilitation team and as a patient education provider for reconstructive and cosmetic surgery team. Dr. Car-Blanchard graduated Summa Cum Laude from Creighton University Medical Center where she earned a Clinical Doctorate and Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Therapy. Creighton University awarded her their prestigious Young Alumni Award in 2004.

  30. REALIZING THE PROMISE OF EVIDENCE-BASED PSYCHOTHERAPIES IN THE VHA

  Dr. Bradley E. Karlin is Director of Psychotherapy and Psychogeriatrics for the Department of Veterans Affairs at the VA’s Central Office in Washington, DC. (See Chapter 20 for his further biography.)

  Josef I. Ruzek, PhD, is Director of the Dissemination and Training Division of the National Center for PTSD at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. Dr. Ruzek is a past member of the (VHA) Undersecretary’s Special Committee on PTSD and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. He is an editor of two editions of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies for Trauma, and his major current interests are dissemination of evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatments for PTSD and Internet-based interventions for trauma survivors.

  Dr. Kathleen Chard is the Director of the PTSD and Anxiety Disorders Division at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. Chard is a co-author of the Cognitive Procession Therapy: Veteran Military treatment manual and she has conducted extensive funded research on the assessment and treatment of PTSD.

  32. FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS

  Lieutenant Colonel Cynthia Rasmussen has served as a mental health nurse in the Army Reserves for 20 years. She is currently serving her third year of mobilization to support the Global War on Terror. An Adult Nurse Practitioner on leave from the Veterans Administration she now works as a Combat Stress officer and Sexual Assault Response coordinator for the 88th RRC. LTC Rasmussen recently spoke at the Veterans Affairs National Polytrauma Conference and has testified before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs as well as at Veterans Hospitals and Centers across the country. She received The MOPH Honorary Service Award from the Military Order of the Purple Heart National Service Officer Training. She earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Nursing from Marquette University.

  34. TENDING, ATTENDING AND HEALING

  Dr. Joseph Bobrow, Roshi, MD, PhD, is the founder and director of Deep Streams Zen Institute. A Zen master in the Diamond Sangha tradition, he is also a clinical psychologist and a relational psychoanalyst. Joseph writes on Zen, psychotherapy, and the interplay of Buddhism and psychology. He is also the founder of the Coming Home Project.

  36. THE BATTLE FOR LOVE

  Mitchell Tepper, PhD, MPH, is Assistant Project Director at The Center of Excellence for Sexual Health, and Research Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Morehouse School of Medicine. He is also the Founder and President of The Sexual Health Network, Inc. and SexualHealth.com. He is a pioneer in the delivery of sexual health information online, and an American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) Certified Sexuality Educator and Counselor. His years of research at Yale, Rutgers and the University of Pennsylvania have served as the basis for numerous professional, academic and public presentations. He currently serves on the editorial boards of the journals Sexuality and Disability and the American Journal of Sexuality Education and on the board of directors of the Institute for the Study of Disadvantage and Disability and The Women’s Sexual Health Foundation. Dr. Tepper has a Master of Public Health from Yale University and a PhD in Human Sexuality Education from the University of Pennsylvania.

  38. FACING OUR FEARS

  Barbara Romberg, MD,
President and Founder Give an Hour, is a licensed clinical psychologist, practicing in the Washington, DC., area for 16 years, specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of children. Dr. Romberg served as an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University, where she participated in the training and supervision of developing clinicians. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland in 1991, her MA in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland in 1987, and her BA, summa cum laude, in psychology from California State College in 1982.

  40. THE ROAD BACK TO SELF

  Dr. David Carroll is the Director of Recovery Services in the Office of Mental Health Services in the VA’s Central Office. He is responsible for the national network of local recovery coordinators who guide the transformation of VA mental health services into a recovery-based system of care. Dr. Carroll began his career at the VA Medical Center in Milwaukee where he served in various roles including program manager for the mental health rehabilitation treatment program and Lead Psychologist. He earned his PhD in clinical psychology from Ohio University and is a graduate of the VHA Executive Career Field Development Program.