PTSD And Military Spouses

Tom Gjelten in for Tom Ashbook

The U.S. military’s new push to help the spouses of servicemen and women with post-traumatic stress disorder.

With two major wars and more than eight years of fighting, the U.S. military is feeling the strain. Many servicemen and women have experienced severe combat stress, the effects of which can linger long after they’ve returned home.

The burden falls also on their spouses; post-traumatic stress disorder –– PTSD— affects entire families.

And now there’s a special program for the spouses of service members with PTSD.

This hour On Point: Caring for the caregivers.
-Tom Gjelten
Guests:

Victoria Bruner, director of the military’s new pilot program –- the Spouses and Significant Others Support Group –- for the spouses of servicemen and women affected by PTSD.

Col. Charles Engel, psychiatric epidemiologist and director of the Deployment Health Clinical Center at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Shamale Dancey, participant and peer facilitator in the Spouses and Significant Others Support Group program. Her husband, Army Specialist Marcus Dancey (temporarily retired), experienced PTSD after returning from Iraq.

Sheri Hall, participant in the Spouses and Significant Others Support Group program. Her husband, Army Major Jeff Hall, experienced PTSD after his second tour in Iraq.

More:

Here are some general resources about PTSD collected by the Spouses and Significant Others Support Group.