3 Ways to Raise PTSD Awareness - PTSD Monthly Update, April 2021

Veterans Health Administration sent this bulletin at 04/30/2021 11:18 AM EDT

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PTSD Monthly Update - News Relevant to the Issues of Trauma and PTSD

April 2021

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June is PTSD Awareness Month

3 Ways to Raise PTSD Awareness

Every year in June, we mark PTSD Awareness Month. It is a time to bring together people and programs across the country to spread awareness about PTSD—what it is and how to treat it—to help improve the lives of trauma survivors.

Join our new Virtual Walk - Registration opens in May

This year we will be hosting virtual walk: Step Up for PTSD Awareness. We invite you to walk, roll, cycle, run or any activity of your choice for 27 minutes during the month of June in honor of PTSD Awareness Day, June 27.

Support PTSD Awareness in 3 Easy Steps

For this year’s PTSD Awareness Month here are 3 easy steps you can take to help raise awareness about PTSD and effective treatments:

 Start by taking our Pledge

Pledge to raise PTSD Awareness with us so that everyone who needs help gets the help they need. Join our expanding group of difference makers who are working to spread the word about PTSD and effective PTSD treatment.

Take one small action every day during the month of June

Use our PTSD Awareness Calendar (PDF): 30 easy ways for you to learn and share information about PTSD and effective PTSD treatment, one for each day. 

If you are a health care provider, there’s a calendar for you: PTSD Awareness Calendar for Providers (PDF)

Reach out to Friends, Family and others in your Community

Read our PTSD Awareness pages and find more ideas and materials you can use to reach out to others, including:
  • Social media profile pictures, banners, graphics and posts
  • A blog post you can use on your website or newsletter (at your work or school)
  • A customizable PowerPoint presentation
  • Plus: posters, banners, badges and flyers

You can make a difference in the lives of those who have experienced trauma. Everyone can help. 

 

Pledge to raise PTSD Awareness

For Providers
ptsd

PTSD Consultation Program

Treating Veterans with PTSD? We can help.

Any healthcare provider treating Veterans can ask our expert clinicians a question.  Meet our consultants and get started.

PTSD Monthly Lecture Series

May 19, 2021 at 2pm ET - Treating PTSD When Common Comorbidities are Present by Sonya Norman, PhD and Matthew Jeffreys, MD.

  • Mark your calendar for the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 2pm ET
  • Subscribe to monthly emails to find out how to join live lectures.
  • Registration is required to receive free continuing education credit for attending the live lecture.

Resources of the Month: PTSD in Health Care Settings

A 15-minute video for medical center staff shows how patients' PTSD symptoms may come into play in health care settings. Presenting the experiences of three Veterans in a busy VA hospital, the video can help employees—especially non-clinical staff—better understand and respond to behavior that may be related to PTSD.

A facilitator's guide is included that provides suggestions for how managers and trainers can use PTSD Awareness in Healthcare Settings as part of employee training sessions. While the video takes place in a VA clinic, it is applicable to all healthcare settings.

Research at the Center

Clinically impaired executive function and brain marker 

disruption

Center researchers have been working to identify subtypes of PTSD based on dysfunction in neural networks alongside cognitive impairments that may underlie the development and maintenance of symptoms.

A recent study included 271 Veterans participants who had been deployed to post-9/11 conflicts and completed a functional MRI scan that measures the communication between brain regions. The Veterans also completed tests that measured PTSD and cognitive (neuropsychological) functioning, including executive functioning.

Researchers found that Veterans with greater PTSD severity had an increased disruption between their cognitive control network (frontal parietal control network) and their emotional processing network (limbic network). Upon further investigation, they found that those with clinically impaired executive function had the greatest disruption to this brain marker of PTSD.

PTSD in the News

For Veterans, a hidden side effect of COVID: feelings of personal growth

Dr. Robert Pietrzak, from the Center’s Behavioral Health Science Division talks with Yale News about his recent study involving 3,000 Veterans and post-traumatic growth.

Read More*

Stay Connected - Subscribe Here

Be sure to forward this update to others so they can subscribe. We send one update per month to keep you informed of the latest PTSD developments.

Thank you,

The Staff of VA’s National Center for PTSD

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