Further Disgust with the VA Med Ctr and Nat'l Guard When I Offered to Assist Them in Treating PTSD

[jennygirl]

Rod Richardson
Managing Editor
THE SHREVEPORT TIMES
222 Lake Street
Shreveport, LA 71101 July 23, 2008


Dear Mr. Richardson:


I am writing this op-ed in both frustration and disgust over both the VA Medical Center, the local National Guard, and the Vet Center in regards of my offering in assisting them in treating their overly burden system of Iraq and Afghanistan vets who are “mentally unfit” to enduring another tour of duty or who are forced to wait several months for an appointment with a psychotherapist. My goal in trying to meet these people is to offer my help as a private cognitive-behavioral therapist with a graduate's degree in Organizational/ Psychology and several years in mental health and disability counseling and case management and who has a membership in the American Psychological Association. Over the past few years I have read about the “wheel ‘em and wheel ‘em out” total disregard for these brave soldiers once they are deemed as unfit due to combat PTSD and the added stress over the female soldiers being at risk of being sexually assaulted by male members of their own troop.

Because I have had members of my own family in the military (my father, cousin, and uncle being career men), I am cognizant of the horrid symptoms of PTSD. In fact, one of my younger uncles who was drafted into Vietnam in his early twenties suffered PTSD so badly that he refused to talk about the atrocities he saw during his tour and instead drifted into self-medication by having a 20-year drug addiction.

Nonetheless, back to the point at hand, my experience with the VA, National Guard, and the Vet Center. I know that Barksdale already has a good EAP service provider. However, being a member of the APA one of our ethical missions (after the torture fiasco of some bad apple psychologists) is to charge reduced rates for these “walking wounded” who unfortunately fall through the extremely long cracks and excessively long red tape of the aforementioned agencies, these people have little of no income. In addition, based on media reports, several of these
soldiers have committed active (literally killing themselves) and passive suicide (through substance abuse), and familial homicide. Once they are no longer of use to the military
(especially inexperinced reservists and guards) they have to beat their head over brick wall to be seen by these excessively bureaucratic agencies. In fact, I have tried repeatedly to call the local VA head of psychiatry Dean Robinson, M.D. and he never saw fit to even return my calls. And when I went next door to the national guard, the treatment towards me was worse, when I recounted statistics of the “walking wounded”, they kept interrupting me and laughing at me. It was all so
surreal – this rude machismo attitude.

Lastly, I was only trying to do my duty as an APA member to assist the above organizations to cater to those soldiers who don’t have the funds or stamina to endure the red tap until something tragic happens. I am only charging them $10-$15 a sliding scale for a session
(much less than my normal clients) and to minimize cost even further I am willing to see them twice a month instead of every week

Sorry, for any misspellings; the mind is faster than the hand.


Jennifer T. McCray, M.A. is a local credentialed cognitive-behavioral therapist and you can e-mail her at [e-mail] and leave your telephone number in your e-mail if you need help if you happen to live in the ARKLA-TEX area and desperately need help.

[midnight]

1. Why do our govt. officials keep turning away help? They did

this to our friends, family, and citizens in NOLA.

[EFerrari]

2. There's something wrong with this letter.

No responsible therapist would suggest to potential clients that they "desperately need help".

[jennygirl]

4. I Have Been a Therapist for over a Decade and These People Do Desperately Need Help!

You need to read all the media reports on this subject and read the last few American Psychological Association's Journal THE MONITOR. I am only repeating what I have experienced professionally and what this organization is also trying with great difficulty to do. And your defense of the rude and unprofessionally acting people at the VA Med. Center and Nat'l Guard displays your own biases against psychotherapy and ignorance of the effects of multiple tours and how they effect soldiers with PTSD. The VAs, Vet Centers, etc. cannot possibly handle all the incoming cases otherwise we would not have all these mentally ill people. As the APA maintains they may have to outsource these services to independent therapists who charge on a sliding scale. Think before you make unfair judgments against my profession, for as I said I am not charging them my standard fee because they would unable to afford it.

[EFerrari]

6. I made no judgment about the profession.

I was directly addressing this letter.

[noamnety]

3. I would suggest

contacting the IVAW and letting them know your services are available. They called me a while ago asking if I could locate free/cheap therapists for PTSD for a few of their members in my area who couldn't get counseling through the VA. There is a huge need for it, but the official organizations have a PR/financial problem if they acknowledge too many cases of it - and it's possible they can't refer patients to you for contractual reasons.

[jennygirl]

5. lwfern, I Need More Info About Your Organization.

E-mail me at my personal address about this organization I would be more than happy to participate. My e-mail is [e-mail]

[noamnety]

7. check your email.

(and thank you)

[unhappycamper]

8. Hi jennygirl

I sent you a PM and an email. Thanks for all you are doing.