Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration

CMHS Consumer Affairs E-News
December 12, Vol. 07-193

Registration Now Open for Training Teleconference: Reducing Stigma for American Soldiers

The SAMHSA Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma Associated With Mental Illness invites you to register now for a free teleconference training titled, "Reducing Stigma for American Soldiers."

Date: Thursday, December 20, 2007
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM (Eastern Time)
To register for this training teleconference, please click here for our registration page.

Please pass this invitation along to interested friends and colleagues. Please note: Registration for this teleconference will close at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on Tuesday, December 18, 2007.

We will email the telephone number for the training teleconference to all registered participants on Wednesday, December 19, 2007.

Training Summary

Nearly 1.4 million men and women make up the existing ranks of active duty military personnel, serving in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force, but research shows that America's soldiers may not seek help when they are experiencing a mental health problem.

A 2004 study of 6,000 military personnel involved in ground combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan found that of those whose responses indicated a mental health problem, only 23 to 40 percent sought psychiatric help.1 Many who did not cited fear of being stigmatized as a reason.2 In June of this year, the Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health acknowledged that "Stigma in the military remains pervasive and often prevents service members from seeking needed care" and made dispelling stigma one of their goals.3

This training will:

Explore research on soldiers, including veterans, and mental health stigma.

Offer first-hand accounts from people who have experienced mental health stigma in the military.

Provide an overview of strategies that may help to promote mental health recovery and reduce stigma among members of the military.

1-2 S.G. Boodman. (November 6, 2007.) The other wounded. The Washington Post, last accessed 11/16/07.

3 Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health. (2007). An achievable vision: Report of the Department of Defense Task Force on Mental Health. Falls Church, VA: Defense Health Board, last referenced 11/29/07.

Send in Your Questions

We invite you to send in your questions related to mental health stigma in the military in advance of the teleconference. Speakers will answer as many questions as possible during the teleconference. Please send your questions by e-mail to stopstigma@samhsa.hhs.gov.

Please note that sending a question does not guarantee its inclusion in the teleconference. We will provide the speakers' contact information so that you may pursue your answer after the call. If you provide your name and organization at the time you ask your question, we may use it during the call. Anonymous questions also can be submitted.

Training Sponsor

This teleconference is sponsored by the SAMHSA Resource Center to Address Discrimination and Stigma (ADS Center), a project of the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The session is free to all participants.

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The Center for Mental Health Services is a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services.