ptsd Just Something To Read About The Latest House Of Va Hearings

[spike]

I figured this is something that should be read here.....It affects all those who have PTSD, Unemployability, etc. It is a Cut and Post from a Larry Scott article.

The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs held a roundtable discussion on PTSD on Wednesday, May16, 2007.The full witness list is here... http://veterans.house.gov/

hearings/schedule110/may07/05-16-07/witness.shtml

Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), Ranking Minority Member, invited Dr. Sally Satel to testify. Satel is the paid mouthpiece of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. Satel's disrespect for veterans with PTSD is a matter of legend. Buyer's "suck it up soldier" attitude is also well-known.

Satel's "blame the veteran" approach is not well-received in the medical community. Quote: "Blaming the veteran for psychological reactions to war fosters stigma, a major reason why veterans do not seek mental health assistance." John A. Fairbank, Ph.D.

For more an Satel, use the VA Watchdog search engine. You'll be amazed at some of the things she has said. Search engine here... http://www.yourvabenefits.org/

What we heard from Satel and Buyer was the "M&M" agenda...minimize and marginalize...that is, minimize the disorder and that marginalizes the veteran. It's a tired old tactic.

Here are Rep. Buyer's opening remarks where he says that PTSD is often used as an "umbrella" and a "catch-all" for any mental disorder...click here to listen or download MP3, 3:36 in length.

Satel's remarks were equally repugnant. She talked about "recovery" and confusing PTSD with other disorders such as phobias, depression and anxiety. She says the VA should be careful of granting 100% benefits for PTSD. Satel added that there must be a "high threshold" for granting PTSD benefits, work is the best therapy and PTSD is a "time-limited" affliction. Here are Satel's opening remarks...click here to listen or download MP3, 9:01 in length.

Later in the hearing there was discussion of "return to work" programs for veterans with PTSD who receive unemployability benefits.

The hearing lasted over 2 hours and 40 minutes. Complete audio is here... http://veterans.house.gov/

hearings/schedule110/may07/05-16-07/05-16-07.wma

[spike]

Just to let you guys know something about my recent visit to the va. I was being helped by a nurse who was in vietnam in the navy as a nurse. She had informed me that she don't care anymore....but when you get seen by a doctor, they type in almost anything they (rude or label you anyway that they want). IE if you tell a pysch doctor some of your problems, pretty much everyone in the VA knows your business. She said even at her level and the level at the desk can read your file. She said when she got her job a lot of the civilians look at her as nuts because she gets treatment for PTSD. It's a dissapointing day when the Vets who even works for the VA get labeled. I went to a Nurse Practictionor and he served as a Doc in the Navy. He understood me better and treated my wife and I better than any other time we ever went to the VA. I sure wish that they had more vets working at the VA. He and the nurse indicated a that even when you work at the VA its the Civilians against the Vets....the split. For a lack of a better way to say it, I believe its going to come to a day when vets will have to start pushing back and soon. I think its gonna come to a point that I think the Veteran community should vote in the Heads of the VA Hospital (just like a president).....because they know they can practically do anything and have no fear about losing their job.

[Jay Johnson]

Jay

Freud started out as a child psych. Most of them were during that period. They evolved into so-called higher forms and or levels of psych. As you know, a great portion of his a work was however based on lies and inflated stats! Majority of his research was conducted on his own CRAZY CHILDREN and his poor wife! He had a deep seeded hate for women. Well most women. Let's face it, the dude was a QUACK! If he were alive today, he would fit right in with the other quacks at the VA!

Take care and have a great day

I'm not sure where you heard that Freud was a child psychologist, but I don't believe this is true. He started out as a neurologist and never studied children at all, despite developing the psychosexual model of development which focuses solely on early childhood development.

Also, I've never heard of Freud studying his own children. Other famous researchers have, such as Piaget, but not Freud.

Either way, he was a "quack" who had severe issues with women and, likely, had childhood trauma himself (my guess is he was molested)....he was completely fixated with childhood sexuality and seemed to blame every psychological disorder on sexual development (which is absurd).

By the way, Freud focused a lot of his attention on "female hysteria", and did seem to have issues with women. He was also an avid cocaine user and often used the drug for "therapeutic" purposes.

P.S. - Did you know that "hysteria" is derived from a Greek word meaning "womb"...the word we use for "crazy" literally means woman:-(

Edited May 20, 2007 by Jay Johnson

[Jay Johnson]

Just to let you guys know something about my recent visit to the va. I was being helped by a nurse who was in vietnam in the navy as a nurse. She had informed me that she don't care anymore....but when you get seen by a doctor, they type in almost anything they (rude or label you anyway that they want). IE if you tell a pysch doctor some of your problems, pretty much everyone in the VA knows your business. She said even at her level and the level at the desk can read your file. She said when she got her job a lot of the civilians look at her as nuts because she gets treatment for PTSD. It's a dissapointing day when the Vets who even works for the VA get labeled. I went to a Nurse Practictionor and he served as a Doc in the Navy. He understood me better and treated my wife and I better than any other time we ever went to the VA. I sure wish that they had more vets working at the VA. He and the nurse indicated a that even when you work at the VA its the Civilians against the Vets....the split. For a lack of a better way to say it, I believe its going to come to a day when vets will have to start pushing back and soon. I think its gonna come to a point that I think the Veteran community should vote in the Heads of the VA Hospital (just like a president).....because they know they can practically do anything and have no fear about losing their job.

Spike,

I feel your pain:-( One of the reasons I suggest using a civilian psychiatrist (aside from keeping the VA out of your business) is that you have the ability to pick and choose which psychiatrist best fits your beliefs; both in how you feel your symptoms should be treated and your beliefs in general.

This issue isn't just a VA issue; this is a world wide issue in regards to psychiatry. The reason I brought up Freud is that he represents a very dated way of thinking about psychological problems and it is his model that this “Satel" psychiatrist still follows. Basically, there is still a large block of individuals within the psychological community that believe, in essence, that psychological disorders are "mental" and not "physical". As diagnostic and imagery tools get better, we are learning that many psychological problems stem from physiological issues within the brain. Fear, anxiety, depression, hallucinations, etc. all have a chemical and biological basis, yet many treat them as if they're merely a made up fantasy inside of our heads; that we can, somehow, overcome if we simply talk ourselves out of it.....this is ridiculous, of course.

The problem is that psychology is a billion dollar business that relies on the perception that one can simply be "talked" out of any given disorder. So, coming to the realization that many disorders have a physiological mechanism, essentially, puts them out of work (to an extent). Now, there are many within the psychology side of the equation who are coming to this realization and admitting that they cannot "cure" a disorder with words alone does NOT mean they are out of business; rather, it simply means that they are in the business of "treating" symptoms, which, in many cases, can give the patient a much better standard of living. But, the traditional psychologists don't want to give up on the idea that mere words can cure severe psychological disorders and they don't want to trivialize their contributions to the field.

In the end, we, as a society, need to start calling a spade a spade and show this antiquated way of thinking for what it is. We need to stop going to thes therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists that subscribe to that nonsense and put them out of work. Fortunately, we live in a free-market system, so we CAN fix this problem, but we need a lot more education on this topic in order to do so. Most people on this forum probably think of a psychologist as a psychologist......we aren't taught that there are many different schools of thought in psychology and most therapists/psychologists subscribe to one, or more, of them. These "schools of thought" mostly believe in the idea that therapy (IE - words) can "cure" "mental" disorders...the only ones that don't focus on the "medical model", which tends to be linked to psychiatrists rather than psychologists/therapists because the medical model acknowledges a physiological problem that psychologists/therapists aren't licensed to deal with (IE - prescribing meds).

Moral of the story - learn to ask questions about your psychologist/therapist/psychiatrist......see what THEY believe and what models THEY follow. If they say things like, "we can cure this, but you need to work harder", or "this is all in your head and/or irrational" fire them immediately....they are ignorant and need further educating.

A SMART psych *should* say that there is no cure and that we really don't know how to "fix the problem", but that he/she will "do everything we can to treat the symptoms".....that is ALL that medical science has proven thus far; anything beyond that is an outright lie.

[spike]

Once I found out what I've been dealing with since discharge and even before that, I often wondered (being a parent) how this affects our children. For example, what happens to the family as a whole in the support or the after effects of being in constant contact with the person with PTSD. I wonder if a study has been done with regards to (VV) Vietnam Vets and families or even now with any of the wars going on or 9/11 victims. For me, I only watch the news as much as I can. Somethings I see in news with my fellow Marines or Vets, really gets me fired up and irratable (with affects of the PTSD). The first time I was getting "treatment" a physch doctor gave me a few handouts, the second time I received a "Relaxing CD with Verbal Cues" (it is a joke at best), third time I spoke to a doctor and he indicated that the reason I was having nightmares was related to my recent weight gain and prevented sleep. The fourth treatment I was told that I was not able to get treatment at the Local Vet Clinic (but I pushed on...trying to deal with it myself.) Meanwhile, my wife questioned if I was dealing with the same kind of symptoms her Vietnam Veteran Step Father had. This took 3-4 years before I was given able to get counseling/etc.

What I have a problem with in this Hearing is that these "experts" have probably never dealt with the things that normal Vets or Combat Vets have dealth with. These so called experts only have "textbook expertise" and its hard to treat without being there or having anything to deal with.

[john999]

I would say to go ahead and get clench your teeth and continue to get treatment at the VA for psychological problems. This continues to build your long term documentation of treatment. The documentation you build today can help you years from now. I have outside mental health care but I still go to the VA every three months for a med check with a shrink. When I file a claim all the VA has to do is look at my in-house medical records. You have to be on your guard, but I recommend continuing treatment for all medical problems at the VA.

[john999]

Spike

I read the thread. What I want to encourage is for vets to educate themselves about the value of "continuity of treatment" in the eyes of the VA. If you stay in the loop you have a much better chance of weathering any storms that may come along regarding reductions etc. Believe it or not the VA wants to own your medical treatment. It makes them look good numbers wise. Numbers mean money in the budget. If you can form ongoing relationships with your VA doctors they will usually go to bat for you. Sometimes it is hard to do this I agree. My primary wrote opinions for me that helped me get SC for a number of conditions. I am going to take everything they can throw at me. They gave me a cane. So now it is documented I have balance problems due to PN. I saying that everytime we get a treatment we validate and expand our disability profile. That does not mean I am going to let them do open heart surgery on me. I have been called a liar and fraud before but I just go get more evidence and make them eat it. I started out with just one SC condition and now have 7 by making sure to visit the VAMC and document all my medical problems. Unless I get hit by a bus the VA is going to pay DIC to my wife.