Veterans
Issues unique to veterans
- The kinds of traumatic events experienced by military veterans can be different from civilians. These include regular exposure to weapons fire and explosives (such as land mines, IEDs, or bombs), witnessing or participating in the occurrence of civilian or military casualties, and physical or sexual harassment and/or assault by a fellow soldier(s).
- These events may be unique kinds of stressful experiences and so they may be more difficult for friends and family to understand.
- The higher the ‘dose’ of stressful events, the higher the likelihood of developing PTSD. Female veterans who are exposed to combat conditions and also experience Military Sexual Trauma may be at particularly high risk for PTSD and other negative mental health consequences.
- It is particularly important for veterans’ families to be involved in treatment, in part because it is sometimes difficult for families to understand the nature of the traumatic events. In addition, family counseling may help to prevent interpersonal violence that can sometimes result from the intense emotional symptoms of PTSD.
Links and Resources
If you’re a veteran suffering from PTSD or trauma, you can turn to your local VA hospital or Vet Center for help. Vet Centers offer free counseling to combat veterans and their families. There are more than 160 specialized PTSD treatment programs across the country in VA facilities, covering a wide variety of treatment options, and many more individual VA clinicians with expertise in treating PTSD. To find out more about the resources and benefits available to you, call the VA Health Benefits Service Center at 1-877-222-VETS.
Here is a nationwide directory of VA centers and Vet Centers:
Information on military sexual trauma (MST) can be found here:
The VA also funds the National Center for PTSD, which is a clearinghouse of information on assessment, prevention, treatment, and research findings:
