Veteran Psychiatry in the US Optimizing Clinical Outcomes

This volume explores the unique psychiatric needs of active and former military personnel and offers clinical pearls for the optimal delivery of care for these individuals. Written by experts in military and veteran psychiatry, this book addresses the most common issues in military and veteran patients, including depression, traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder, homelessness, and suicidality.  Chapters highlight the characteristics of veterans suffering from each disorder that requires special treatment, making it a valuable resource for both military and civilian clinicians.

Veteran Psychiatry in the US is a valuable resource for all mental health clinicians working with or seeking to work with veterans, including psychiatrists, neurologists, primary care physicians, psychologists, counselors, social workers, nurses, residents, and all others.

Preface - Elspeth Cameron Ritchie and Maria D. Llorente

Part I. Overview of the VA and Military

Chapter 1 - Introduction - Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, Harold Stephen Kudler and Robert L. Koffman

Chapter 2 - Outline of Military Culture and Military and VA Health Systems - Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

Chapter 3 - Psychiatry in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs: A History and a Future - Harold Stephen Kudler

Chapter 4 - Optimizing Clinical Outcomes in VA Mental Health Care - Cheryl A. Lowman

Part II. Clinical Issues—General

Chapter 5 - Suicide - David A. Jobes, Leslie A. Haddock and Michael R. Olivares

Chapter 6 - Treatment for Trauma Related Disorders: The “Three Buckets” Model - Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, Rachel M. Sullivan and Kyle J. Gray

Chapter 7 - Treatment Resistant Depression Among US Military Veterans - R. Gregory Lande

Chapter 8 - Psychotic Disorders and Best Models of Care - Philip Yam, Ayman H. Fanous and Dinesh Mittal

Chapter 10 - Alcohol Pharmacotherapy - Jasmine Carpenter and Shannon Tulk

Chapter 11 - Opiate Use in the Military Context - Mike Colston

Chapter 12 - Use of Stimulants for ADHD and TBI in Veterans - Donna L. Ticknor and Antoinette M. Valenti

Chapter 13 - Use of Complementary and Integrative Health for Chronic Pain Management - Marina A. Khusid, Elissa L. Stern and Kathleen Reed

Chapter 14 - Traumatic Brain Injury - Blessen C. Eapen and Bruno Subbarao

Chapter 15 - Homeless Veterans and Mental Health - Kaitlin Slaven and Maria D. Llorente

Chapter 16 - Contextual Frameworks for Addressing Risk and Fostering Resilience among Sexual and Gender Minority Veterans - Rebecca Gitlin and Michael R. Kauth

Chapter 17 - Older Veterans - John T. Little, Bryan A. Llorente and Maria D. Llorente

Chapter 18 - Women Veterans - Kasey M. Llorente, Keelan K. O'Connell, Margaret Valverde and Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

Chapter 19 - Military Environmental Exposures and Mental Health - Matthew J. Reinhard, Michelle Kennedy Prisco, Nicholas G. Lezama and Elspeth Cameron Ritchie

Chapter 21 - Listening to Trauma, and Caring for the Caregiver, A Psychodynamic Reflection in the Age of Burnout - Joseph E. Wise

Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, MD, MPH
Chair Department of Psychiatry
Medstar Washington Hospital Center
Vice Chair and Professor of Psychiatry

Georgetown University School of Medicine
Professor of Psychiatry

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
110 Irving St., N.W.
East Bldg. 3105
Washington, D.C. 20010

Maria D. Llorente, MD
Professor, Georgetown University School of Medicine
Deputy Chief of Staff, Washington DC VA Medical Center
Department of Psychiatry
50 Irving St NW
Washington DC 20042