APA Resource Document on Psychiatry and Military Service

The APA Resource Document on Psychiatry and Military Services was prepared as part of an APA Action Paper to improve the awareness of all APA members regarding military implications of psychiatric diagnoses and treatments. This resource document outlines the key considerations for civilian psychiatrists treating active-duty military personnel.

View Document

Military and Veteran Mental Health Learning Series

The Military and Veteran Mental Health series is a collaboration of APA and the Society of Uniformed Service Psychiatrists (SUSP) and provides free online courses to member psychiatrists who treat and interact with members of the military, veterans, and their families. Take them at your convenience separately, or as a series, through the APA Learning Center and obtain up to 3.5 hours of AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.

Disaster Mental Health: Practical Applications of Disaster Mental Health – Lessons Learned from the US Military

Presented by Jeffery Millegan, M.D., MPH, and Joshua Morganstein, M.D., at the end of this course learners will be able to:

1. Identify different types of human-generated and natural disasters and describe the relative psychological impacts.
2. Explain the behavioral and psychological effects of disasters on individuals and communities to enhance clinical care and overall population health.
3. Determine those most vulnerable to the impact of disasters to increase identification and treatment within different scopes of practice.
4. Identify the key components for successful application of psychological first aid.
5. Describe a Navy model for short-term disaster mental health support.
6. Formulate a strategy to provide disaster mental health support within your own community.

PTSD: Pathophysiology, Treatment, and Military Aspects

Presented by David Benedek, M.D., Gary Wynn, M.D., and Christopher Warner, M.D., at the end of this course learners will be able to:

1. Describe key concepts of the neuroscience of traumatic stress response including fear conditioning, neural circuits and HPA dysregulation, memory reconsolidation, and epigenetic modification.
2. Recognize the implications of the neurobiology of the traumatic stress for assessment, diagnosis, and treatment.
3. Describe currently available treatment modalities for the treatment of PTSD within three categories: pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and complementary and alternative medicine.
4. Determine which PTSD treatment modalities are best suited for different patients and how they can be used in combination in a clinical setting.
5. Describe and recognize the unique characteristics, symptoms, and treatment of Combat Operational Stress and how they relate to military Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in a clinical and occupational setting.
6. Detect the stigma factors and barriers that impact willingness to seek care and compliance with treatment among military and veteran patients, and recognize the screening mechanisms for identification of PTSD.

Resilience of Military Children and Families

Presented by Brett Schneider, M.D., and Rachel Sullivan, M.D., at the end of this course learners will be able to:

1. Integrate the concept of resilience in military children in a clinical setting.
2. Utilize research on military families to screen for factors that are likely to affect military children in a clinical setting.
3. Apply knowledge about military demographics and culture to complete initial evaluations that are sensitive to military culture.
4. Screen for deployment cycles in families presenting to CAP.
5. Utilize military systems that foster resilience in military children as part of routine clinical care.

Suicide in the Military

Presented by Robert Ursano, M.D., at the end of this course learners will be able to:

1. Describe the clinical and health system impact of suicide in the USA.
2. Integrate the historical context of suicide prediction since WWII with present trends to better understand the relationship between war and suicide risk.
3. Identify recent predictors of suicide and suicide attempts in military populations.
4. Anticipate opportunities and contributions a big data approach to suicide prediction might have for psychiatric care.