Military mental health services seen lacking

NEW YORK, Feb 27 (Reuters) The psychological needs of US military personnel and their families are straining the current mental health services of the military, concludes an American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force charged with looking into the issue.

''The military is doing a lot of things to take care of the mental health services of the active duty service members and their families and children,'' Dr Ronald S Palomares told Reuters Health, ''but there is definitely room for improvement.'' Many military families are going without needed mental health services because of the limited availability of such care, according to Palomares, a psychologist on the APA staff and a Task Force member, who has served active duty in the Air Force and Army National Guard.

''What we found is that one military installation may have a really good mental health program but due to a number of factors, the quality and quantity of programs really varies across the military,'' Palomares said.

The APA Task Force recommends developing centralized leadership across the army, air force, and navy to better coordinate mental health services.

Barriers to accessing appropriate mental health care also need to be addressed. ''We need to increase education of the military leadership about the value of mental health services,'' according to Palomares. ''Stigma about mental health services in general and about seeking mental health assistance continues to be a barrier in the military. Military leaders need to be educated to reduce that stigma and encourage service members to seek mental health services when they need it.'' A shortage of psychologists in the military is another problem.

''In the army and navy, approximately 40 per cent of positions for uniformed psychologists are empty at this time,'' Palomares reported. ''With fewer providers, there are more demands on those providers that are there, and many are being deployed themselves to provide mental health services on the frontlines so there are fewer stateside.'' Another concern is the lack of up-to-date research on mental health issues of modern active duty personnel. ''As we tried to pull our report together, we found a lot of research about mental health issues and services for Vietnam veterans,'' Palomares said.

''But with the global war on terror, the mental health issues of active duty soldiers are new and unique,'' Palomares noted, particularly the stress of multiple deployments.

For female soldiers, Palomares said ''there is no good research about women in combat and their mental health needs. What is the effect on children of their parents being deployed two, three, four times - we don't know.'' Addressing many of these issues ultimately comes down to funding, Palomares said, noting that the Task Force recommends additional funds be earmarked specifically for mental health services for military personnel and the families.

REUTERS BDP ND0916