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Thursday, June 20, 2013

Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D.: Healing on the Home Front: Domestic Violence and Post-Traumatic Stress

Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D.: Healing on the Home Front: Domestic Violence and Post-Traumatic Stress HPFB.init();

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Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D.Founder and president, Give an Hour

GET UPDATES FROM Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D. Like 6 Healing on the Home Front: Domestic Violence and Post-Traumatic Stress Posted: 03/13/2013 4:08 pm Read more

PTSD Domestic Violence , Domestic Violence , ptsd , Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder , War Veteran Ptsd , War Veterans , War Veterans Domestic Violence , War Veterans Ptsd , Healthy Living News
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Despite the diversity of the U.S. military members who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq, there still exists a popular misconception of the returning vet as the Marlboro man, a stoic figure wrestling alone with the after-effects of combat. After nearly a decade of providing mental health services to veterans, service members and their families, I know nothing is farther from the truth. Our returning service members are a reflection of the society they serve -- male, female, young, old, representing every profession, personality type and ethnic group imaginable. They are us.

And their mental health struggles are ours as well. Of the 2.6 million men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, some 20-35 percent will suffer some form of post-traumatic stress (PTS). In treating this population and their affected family members, we must also work from facts and avoid misconceptions. It is also important to differentiate between post-traumatic stress and the more commonly-known disorder PTSD. Post-traumatic stress is an understandable reaction to the horror of war or rape or surviving a natural disaster. It develops into a disorder if those suffering don't get the support and assistance they need. While we have all read headlines about returning veterans who have "snapped," it is critical to understand that violence is not a symptom of post-traumatic stress. Those who make national news, or any news at all, are the extreme minority. With post-traumatic stress, there is most commonly the wish to get away from stimulation, to numb, to shut down, to avoid others. There may be depression, anxiety, listlessness, an inability to concentrate, and bad dreams, all of which can interfere with healthy relationships, enjoying kids and partners and engaging in the workplace.

So how do we understand the relationship between post-traumatic stress and domestic violence? The answer is carefully, with great awareness and compassion. I have seen many individuals with PTS who do not engage in aggressive or violent behavior -- they suffer and isolate themselves. Post-traumatic stress does not directly cause domestic violence, but it can create conditions that may contribute to domestic violence. Risk factors include irritability, agitation, hyper-vigilance, a flattening of affect, so the person doesn't feel much of anything, including empathy for loved ones. In addition, the experience of post-traumatic stress can lead some sufferers to self-medicate using alcohol or drugs (prescription or illegal) which results in poor impulse control and poor judgment. Post-traumatic stress places a person at greater risk for many things, including dysfunctional and destructive behavior.

And that affects our collective mental health. When you consider the family members of our returning service members, there are millions of Americans directly affected by combat half a world away. They live in our communities, and they need community-based support. Too often we are uncomfortable, we are too busy, and we think "it doesn't affect me personally." It's easy to turn the other way. But given the millions of veterans, service members and their family members who need -- and deserve -- mental health care, it's not a real option. That's one reason I created Give An Hour (www.giveanhour.org) -- to provide free, confidential mental health services to military personnel and their families. Since 2005, more than 6,700 mental health professionals have joined the Give an Hour network and are providing free mental health services across the country. Collectively, our providers have now donated over 82,000 hours -- valued at approximately $8 million -- of care and support to those who have given so much to our nation.

You don't have to be a mental health expert to make a difference. So often when it comes to mental health issues or partner violence, people suffering will say, "No one wanted to hear, no one tuned in, people turned the other way." We are uncomfortable, afraid, and so we don't do anything. All of us have experiences, painful aspects of relationships we try to keep shoved in a corner in a box. Talking is not only good for potential victims, but it's empowering for us. It leads to our own mental health improvement.

Need help with substance abuse or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen is a Washington, D.C.-area psychologist who founded Give An Hour, a private non-profit group that pairs volunteer mental-health professionals with U.S. military personnel back from war.

For more by Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D., click here.

For more on PTSD, click here.

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Monday, June 10, 2013

Elisabeth Hasselbeck Not Leaving 'The View,' Barbara Walters Says

Barbara Walters insisted on Monday that Elisabeth Hasselbeck will not be leaving "The View," following earlier reports that the co-host was departing the show.

A number of outlets reported on Friday that Hasselbeck's contract would not be renewed. The reason, according to the reports, was that Hasselbeck's conservative views were clashing with the audience. The rumors emerged on Friday, one day after Joy Behar announced that she was leaving the show after sixteen years. On Monday, Walters addressed the story, saying:

There is a particularly false story getting picked up about Elisabeth's alleged departure, saying that we don't approve of her conservative views. The truth is, we love Elisabeth. I like her personally and she's just a wonderful person. But beyond that we value and appreciate her point of view. It's important to us because Elisabeth helps give this show perspective and balance. ...We have no plans for Elisabeth to leave this show. Having said that to all of you, Bill and I have always said that when one of you makes the choice to leave, that's your choice and we will support your decision. But right now, the only person who cannot leave the show is me.

She also addressed Behar's departure, saying that it will be "bittersweet." Walters said that Behar has been a co-host since the start of the show.

"I don't like my jobs to last longer than my marriages," Behar joked.

"I want what's best for you. I want what's best for all of you," Walters said, adding that she will miss Behar.

Behar will be leaving when her contract expires in August. “It seemed like the right time,” she told Deadline last week. “You reach a point when you say to yourself, ‘Do I want to keep doing this?’ There are other things on my plate I want to do — I’ve been writing a play, I’ve been neglecting my standup.”

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Saturday, April 20, 2013

Barbara Bruno: Dreamcatcher: The National Football League Is an Iraq War Veteran's Next Mission

Barbara Bruno: Dreamcatcher: The National Football League Is an Iraq War Veteran's Next Mission HPFB.init();

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Barbara BrunoNFL Analyst and Commentator, Independent Film Producer, Non-Profit Grant Writer

GET UPDATES FROM Barbara Bruno Like 12 Dreamcatcher: The National Football League Is an Iraq War Veteran's Next Mission Posted: 02/17/2013 5:21 pm Follow

Football , NFL , Brandon O'Brien Nfl , Brandon O'Brien Nfl Draft , Marine Corps , NFL Combine , Regional Combine , Football Combine , Football Draft , Impact Sports , NFL Draft , Pro Football , Professional Football , Sports News
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Brandon O'Brien isn't your average NFL Draft hopeful. The 6'1", 218 lb wide receiver served two tours of duty in Iraq before deciding to dedicate his post-Marine Corps life to getting a shot at playing professional football.

For the next three months, this tough ballcatcher should probably bow to the inevitable and officially change his name to "30-year-old Brandon O'Brien." He'll be asked approximately one million and two times if he has enough athletic ability at this age to compete at the NFL level. According to O'Brien, his agent and some of the staff at Athletes' Performance NFL Combine Preparation Program, the answer is a resounding "yes."

He'll be poked, prodded and pushed to prove that his years as a member of one of America's elite military fraternities have made him a football force. Scouts and coaches will scrutinize every deep breath, rep and measurable while critiquing his performance against competition far stiffer than he has ever faced on the field. For a man who has been deployed twice in the Middle East, this process shouldn't prove terribly intimidating.

Sports culture has an inappropriate tendency to equate competition with battle and players with warriors. O'Brien says that he is "not offended" by the metaphors and adds good-naturedly that a football game "is a battle in a sense. After all, your opponent is trying to cause you physical pain." Nevertheless, he doesn't delve into the details of combat with the younger men journeying this road to the draft and beyond.

"Sometimes I'll tell them about having to go on patrol with low rations or no sleep. But out there it's life or death. It's a level of responsibility that a lot of them will never know."

O'Brien lived that responsibility when he saw two fellow Marines caught in an ocean riptide. They were almost 100 yards off the beach, being pulled out to sea and drowning. According to his Citation, O'Brien "dove into the extremely turbulent surf [and swam] through rip currents and six-foot swells... Displaying exceptionally determined effort, Corporal O'Brien pulled both victims to shallow waters... [they] were saved as a result of his unflinching responsiveness during imminent, life-threatening circumstances... thereby reflecting great credit upon himself, and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps." For these actions, Mr. O'Brien was awarded The Navy and Marine Corps Medal, an honor bestowed in the past upon John F. Kennedy and Navy Diver Carl Brashear.

Nothing about Brandon's journey to this grueling NFL interview process has been easy. The Florida native frankly describes his high school team as both run-dominant and "not very good." Without much opportunity to showcase his wide receiving skills, O'Brien wasn't recruited as a scholarship athlete. He decided to attend the University of Kentucky and joined their team as a walk-on. The plan was to work his way into prominence on this passing offense and focus on a potential future in the NFL.

And then life happened. When his family needed his help to survive financially, O'Brien chose to leave school and contribute. Ultimately, he determined that military service was the best option.

However, his pro football dream was only sleeping. After a day on patrol in the Iraqi desert, Brandon would head to the base's weight room so that he could stay in peak condition. His comrades encouraged him to pursue the NFL quest after his service commitment and O'Brien took up the challenge, even after discovering that his Division I eligibility had expired.

In another display of critical thinking and maturity, Brandon methodically concluded that the level of competition in the NAIA's (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Frontier Conference fit his needs and he convinced Montana State University-Northern that he fit theirs.

A couple of seasons and team records later, Brandon and a teammate decided to forego Spring Break in Cancun to attend a one-week training session at Athletes' Performance in Arizona. This winter, with his own savings and support from his family, Brandon is participating in the three-month NFL Combine Preparation Program held at the Athletes' Performance facility in Texas. There are more than 25 Combine Training programs, but AP is probably the best known, in part because the results are jaw-dropping. In 2012, 14 of the 32 first-round draft picks trained with Athletes' Performance.

While most high-profile athletes attend Combine Prep programs as part of an agent's investment in their future careers, lower-round and free agent hopefuls like O'Brien sometimes foot the bill themselves. His endorsement of the experience thus far is unreservedly enthusiastic: "It is so worth it! When you think of where you could be, what could happen for you, [this money] is a drop in the well."

Arriving at the AP program completely on his own initiative, O'Brien now has an agent who has arranged for his appearance at the Beyond Sports Network Collegiate Showcase early next month and a March Pro Day in Montana. Brandon worked out at the Houston NFL Regional Combine on February 16th and is hoping for an invitation to the Dallas Super Regional Combine that will be attended by representatives from all 32 NFL teams. In 2012, 28 players who attended the Super Regional either made rosters or practice squads, so the financial, physical and mental commitment can pay off.

Brandon may or may not become a professional football player, but he "feels blessed to be here. After all, my unit is in Afghanistan -- I could be there. There is a lot of love and admiration here. Many of the other guys have family that have served." O'Brien has friends among his fellow veterans who have suffered injuries of the body, mind and spirit and intends to support The Wounded Warrior Project should football give him the platform.

Whether Brandon O'Brien will convince NFL coaches, scouts and general managers that he can summon his inner Tony Gonzalez and give them a few good years catching passes and making special teams tackles remains to be seen. They will indisputably come away from meeting him with the conviction that spending time with this veteran, hero and hopeful will elevate your perspective, improve your faith in mankind and generally just make your day.

My thanks to Peggy Iralson and Adam Farrand of Athletes' Performance for their assistance and to Brandon O'Brien for his time on the night before his Regional Combine.

Follow Barbara Bruno on Twitter:www.twitter.com/allprofootball

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Thursday, June 20, 2013

Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D.: Healing on the Home Front: Domestic Violence and Post-Traumatic Stress

Monday, June 10, 2013

Elisabeth Hasselbeck Not Leaving 'The View,' Barbara Walters Says

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Barbara Bruno: Dreamcatcher: The National Football League Is an Iraq War Veteran's Next Mission

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Thursday, June 20, 2013

Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D.: Healing on the Home Front: Domestic Violence and Post-Traumatic Stress

Monday, June 10, 2013

Elisabeth Hasselbeck Not Leaving 'The View,' Barbara Walters Says

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Barbara Bruno: Dreamcatcher: The National Football League Is an Iraq War Veteran's Next Mission

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