By Bob Brewin
Aug 05, 2008
The Defense Department's Military Health System launched on Aug. 5 a behavioral health Web portal that will allow service members to anonymously seek mental health treatments for maladies such as combat stress and post-traumatic stress disorder in what the agency called a "stigma free" environment.
Comment on this article in The Forum.The shame and fear associated with seeking mental health treatment is the primary reason veterans avoid seeing care, according to a study of Iraq veterans with the Army National Guard published in October 2007 by Dr. Tracy Stecker, a psychologist at the Veterans Affairs Department.
Dr. Joseph Pursch, a former Navy psychiatrist and flight surgeon, said despite the best efforts by Defense to remove the stigma associated with PTSD, it still has an influence "when it comes to the promotion board."
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20080805_4104.php
