How Many Veterans With PTSD Seek Treatment?

Getting Reliable Mental Health Care for Veterans with PTSD

Stress and trauma on the battlefield for any warrior is nothing new. In fact, written history dating as early as 400 BC – and even further – rewinding to the Epic of Gilgamesh – chronicles the transition from confident warrior to anxiety-ridden drifter.

Present-day instances, however, are widespread and high in number, creating cause for alarm regarding the mental health of our most recent veterans. There’s no denying America faces a serious crisis when it comes to mental health treatment and our veterans.

However, the statistics surrounding post-traumatic stress disorder cases for service members who experienced tours in Iraq and Afghanistan might shock you, as well as the answer to the question: how many veterans with PTSD seek treatment?

This article puts a spotlight on the number of America’s veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and exactly how many of them actively seek treatment to remedy their PTSD symptoms. We will also touch on our programs for treating trauma and PTSD effectively, right here at Icarus in New Mexico.

The Rates of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder for Military Personnel

There’s no doubting the lifetime impact that war has on veterans. Regardless of what side you’re on there’s no escaping the brutality one experiences during a combat tour.

However, recent data suggests something interesting about our current veterans when compared to Vietnam veterans and those who served in other wars. Studies conducted demonstrate what percentage of soldiers received a PTSD diagnosis based on each individual war.

• WW2 and Korean War: 3% of veterans diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder
• Vietnam War: 10%
• Persian Gulf War: 21%
• Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom: 29%

The Vietnam War, considered to have caused a significant amount of trauma and drove widespread cases of flashbacks pales in comparison to the two most recent wars. What creates such an alarmingly high contrast between earlier wars and the most recent?

Reasons for Trending Cases of Veterans with PTSD

There are several elements that could possibly answer for the inflated numbers of veterans with PTSD. First, we must consider the individuals who have PTSD before even entering the military.

Studies have also shown that a substantial percentage of both female veterans and male veterans experienced some form of trauma as children. These traumatic events include sexual assault, physical and verbal abuse, or witnessing domestic violence.

This makes sense, considering kids who experience these types of things might lean toward something like the military to provide stability and leadership they may have missed out on. But that doesn’t explain the high numbers for post-war PTSD.

Diagnosis Post-War
Many would say that WW2 was by far the most violent war ever experienced. According to the death toll numbers, it’s by far the most devastating war in terms of life loss. It only makes sense to assume that the rates of veterans with PTSD symptoms and other mental health challenges would be much higher here.

We must consider the following and

• We already learned from Vietnam that wars with high numbers of ambush situations and unseen enemies lead to higher cases of PTSD.
• The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had a high rate of ambushes.
• Veterans also fought in closed-quarter, urban combat, leading to many unpredictable and volatile situations.

How Many Veterans Receive the Proper Mental Health Services after Being Diagnosed with Mental Illness?

Now that we know the percentage of veterans suffering from mental health problems, we can break down how many receive the mental health services they need.

In the most recent studies, data suggests that nearly 50% of veterans can’t access mental health services in a timely fashion. Even more alarming is the fact that when you combine these mental health disorders with substance abuse, the amount swells to almost 90% for those who aren’t treating PTSD and other issues surrounding a traumatic event.

At Icarus Behavioral, we’re putting in the effort to curve these trends, providing adequate care and assistance to clients before, during, and after therapy.

How Do You Treat a Traumatic Event?

Treating PTSD is arguably one of the most challenging mental health disorders to remedy, due to the complications involved and the wide ranging driving factors at the center. In many cases, there are multiple events that lead to these mental disorders.

If you’re a veteran suffering from PTSD, the chances are high that you’ve experienced one or more of the following:

• PTSD from a combat situation involving an ambush
• Trauma from losing a close friend or peer in combat
• Significant combat-related injury
• Military sexual trauma
• Trauma before serving

Each of these situations requires a unique approach to treatment. If you’re suffering from any of the situations mentioned above or believe you have PTSD, maybe you haven’t received adequate care from the Veterans Affairs hospital in your area. Icarus Behavioral Health is a powerful option with the capability to provide the care you need.

For Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking help, pay attention to the following sections for the information you need to take advantage of our treatment program.

Choosing Icarus Behavioral Health for PTSD Treatment

Iraq and Afghanistan veterans seeking PTSD treatment (and others) have achieved success throughout the years, and you can too. Veterans seeking treatment, use the list below to get started on your treatment:

Contacting Icarus for Support
After contacting our admissions team, all that’s required is for us to coordinate with the Department of Veterans Affairs or your specific insurance provider to handle the billing part of treatment. Afterwards, we’ll you up with your admission date.

Begin Our Streamlined Admissions Process
There’s nothing to be stressed out over regarding our admissions process. In fact, we strive to provide one of the simplest admissions processes available to ensure there’s no waiting and you get proper treatment immediately.

We’re unique from other mental health providers, however, in the fact that we craft a truly unique personalized treatment plan for every single client. During admissions, we’ll ask a set of diagnostic questions and a few questions regarding your mental health history and current situation.

We go beyond a standard diagnostic and statistical manual to treat veterans. We take a specialized approach for every client, ensuring that your therapy is different from the next clients’.

Personalized Treatment Plan
Depending on the results of your admissions process, we develop your personalized treatment plan according to what we consider to be the best course of action. Ultimately, this set of diagnostic criteria will decide the specific direction we go with your therapy. Typically, PTSD treatment and similar mental health issues include the following options:

Cognitive Processing Therapy
Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a 12-session regimen that consists of journaling and discussing the events surrounding your trauma with a counselor. A form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), CPT aims to educate you about changing the negative thoughts you have surrounding your trauma. The thought process here is that if you can change your thoughts, you can change the way you feel.

CPT has been highly effective in recent years for treating PTSD and acute stress disorder. Military veterans have achieved great success with this specific form of therapy.

Prolonged Exposure
Prolonged Exposure (PE) therapy has also been effective at treating PTSD in veterans. This form of therapy treats post traumatic stress by gradually and methodically having clients approach trauma-related people, places, and things they’ve been avoiding since suffering from their trauma.

Clients remain in these stressful situations until the stress is reduced by half. Imaginal exposure includes a constant revisiting of traumatic events through memory as clients record detailed accounts on audio. They’re encouraged to go back later to listen and consider the information contained in these recordings.

Group Therapy
Some clients respond well to group therapy efforts. Although not everyone is willing to confront the source of their trauma with a large number of people, small groups can provide effective results, as shared experiences from peers can help to process your own negative thoughts and feelings.

Dual Diagnosis
Finally, for those suffering from a substance abuse disorder combined with PTSD, our dual diagnosis program offers a combined effort to treat both the addiction side and the mental health side of your situation.

Reach Out to Icarus for PTSD Treatment Support Today

PTSD can be crippling, making even the simplest tasks difficult to manage. For many, even going out in public can take a significant toll. With Icarus Behavioral, you don’t need to put off treatment any longer. Each day is a gift, and we’re here to help you make a return to a normal life, before your trauma experience.

With an expert team and top-notch support system, we provide all the tools you need during and after treatment to experience long-term recovery. Contact our admissions team today to get started.