Symposium

Military and Veterans Affairs

Behavioral Health Services

Brain Injury

Caregiver Needs

Clinical Practice (assessment, diagnosis, treatment, knowledge translation/EBP, implementation science, program development)

Veteran Service Organizations: Leveraging Important Community Resources to Assist Veterans Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injury

Wednesday, November 9, 2022

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

Presenter(s)

Catharine H. Johnston-Brooks, PhD

Assistant Professor
Marcus Institute for Brain Health
Aurora, Colorado, United States

Slides
Shannon Miles, PhD

Clinical Psychologist
James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital
Tampa, Florida, United States
Katharine Hartnack, PsyD

Neuropsychologist
Marcus Institute for Brain Health
Thornton, Colorado, United States
LB

Laura Bajor
Joseph Montanari

LIMBIC-CENC Military Coordinator
Virginia Commonwealth University/

Military Veterans with TBI and comorbid behavioral health symptoms have worse rehabilitation outcomes compared to Veterans with either condition alone. Therefore, for Veterans to achieve optimal rehabilitation and recovery outcomes, behavioral health symptoms (i.e., mental health disorders, loss of identity, loss of brotherhood) must also be addressed after a TBI. Such recovery does not occur solely in clinical settings. Specifically, Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) are organizations that aid and serve Veterans, service members, dependents, and survivors. VSOs are widely available across the country, provide an organizational structure for Veterans to maintain bonds of camaraderie and find interpersonal support, and represent Veteran relevant interests to congress. We present current information about VSOs, including how to match a veteran’s needs with a specific VSO, followed by a panel comprised of Veterans and representatives from prominent VSOs to describe their approach to caring for Veterans with TBI, responding in a Q&A format.

Learning Objectives:

Describe what constitutes a VSO.
Summarize behavioral health benefits of VSOs and how they can improve rehabilitation in Veterans with TBI.
Identify resources to connect Veterans with a VSO in their community.