Coaxing Veterans Into Treatment to Prevent Suicides
Stateline.orgJun 11, 2019
Editor's Note: Veterans who are in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, and those who know a veteran in crisis, can call 800-273-8255 and press 1, chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat, or text 838255.
Most of the veterans Brockington knows rely on one another for support instead of seeking mental health services.
"We talk to each other about our problems all the time," Brockington said. But he admitted, "It would be better if we had someone to talk to who knew what they were doing."
Although retired and active military service members die by suicide at twice the rate of civilians, research shows that veterans who receive mental health care are much less likely to end their lives than those who don't. A soon-to-be-released study from the
For veterans, the primary barrier to treatment is the stigma associated with seeking mental health services, which male veterans in particular consider a sign of weakness, said
Fears and myths about suicide prevention also get in the way, she said.
"Veterans are afraid that if they admit they're thinking about killing themselves, somebody will come snatch them up and put them in a hospital and make them take medicine," she said.
Stecker's study, funded by the
She and a team of researchers called a thousand veterans who volunteered to participate in the study. They screened them for six mental health symptoms -- sleep loss, post-traumatic stress syndrome, depression, substance use, pain and suicidal thoughts or attempts -- five times during the year after they initially made contact.
"Veterans are afraid that if they admit they're thinking about killing themselves, somebody will come snatch them up and put them in a hospital and make them take medicine."
Half of the participants also received a call from a psychologist who discussed with them their fears and concerns about seeking mental health treatment. For any participants who decided they wanted treatment during the study, the researchers connected them directly to a local mental health provider.
Stecker's study, slated for publication later this summer, found that the veterans who simply talked on the phone to a mental health professional about getting help fared better in terms of suicidal thoughts and other mental health symptoms than those who didn't, and they were more than twice as likely to seek mental health care during suicidal episodes.
"That was our hypothesis going in," Stecker said, "so it wasn't surprising."
"What was surprising was how easy it was to recruit a thousand veterans from across the country who said they had considered or attempted suicide, hadn't received mental health services, and were willing to participate in our study."
VA Success
Nationwide, an average of 20 current and former military service members die by suicide each day. Of those, an average of six were connected to the
But even as suicide rates are rising in both the civilian and military populations, the rate of death by suicide among veterans connected to the
"The
"The real challenge is to find the veterans who are not connected to the system. The
In 2018, a total of 815
At the
As in the general population, economic pressures, broken relationships, health problems and loneliness are among more than 30 factors that the
"What's so shocking is that only 50 percent of the veterans at high risk for suicide are involved in getting mental health care," said Dr.
About a year ago, Myrick's group started using a database that incorporated risk factors for his department's more than 26,000 patients -- including age, recent cancer diagnosis, divorce, substance use, homelessness and job loss -- to predict who was at greatest risk of suicide.
They found roughly 400 patients at high risk of suicide and started calling them every week to see if they wanted help with depression, anxiety, PTSD or suicidal thoughts.
"We found that 70 percent were engaging with us," Myrick said. "They were saying they wanted help, and they followed through."
In addition, the
At the hospital in historic downtown
Veterans in Need
Brockington walks with a cane and wears a back brace. "I have so many medical problems, it's depressing," he said. But sitting in front of the
A
Sleep loss is a major suicide risk factor, Stecker said, as are chronic health problems. "Most people who are at risk of suicide don't know it," she said. "That's a big part of the problem."
At the national level, the
That came after a scathing Government Accountability Office report that concluded lack of leadership in the department during the first year of the Trump administration had led to a failure to reach out to and educate veterans about suicide risk and the value of mental health services.
Since then, the
In addition, local suicide prevention coordinators connected to the
"We're trying to improve our outreach to veterans where they work, live and thrive in the community," Dr.
"When they're in active duty, they're taught a culture of 'Fight on, push on, pull yourself up by your bootstraps.' Then when they leave, we tell them they need to ask for help and come in and get mental health care. It's a tough transition," she said. "But we know that once they get into care they do better."
Myrick's group here in
How did Stecker and her team find a thousand veterans willing to participate in their study? They placed ads on Craigslist, Facebook and other online outlets. The ads didn't mention suicide or mental health; they simply asked: "Are you considering seeking help?"
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