Statement from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Response to Department of Veterans Affairs Increase of Mental Health Staffing

LOS ANGELES, April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Chicago School of Professional Psychology applauds the Department of Veterans Affairs for its decision to hire roughly 1,900 mental health professionals to handle the growing number of returning war veterans, who require long-term mental health services.  It is critical that effective mental health services be made available to all veterans to support their safe return to their families and communities. As mental health clinicians on the front line, we believe that those who have made sacrifices for our country should not be forced to wait in long lines to find help for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anger management, and chronic substance abuse problems.

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The Chicago School, with campuses in Chicago, throughout Southern California, and Washington, D.C., established its Home Again Program, and is working closely with U.S. Veterans Project to help veterans make a smooth transition from deployment to home coming. The Chicago School's graduate students use a full range of tools including creative arts therapies (music, art, and drama) to facilitate and bridge communication gaps. Through our work with the non-profit organization, U.S. Veteran's Project, we provide assessments and psychotherapy to men and women veterans, who have recently returned from active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Working at two residential facilities operated by the U.S. Veterans Initiative through the Veterans Reentry Project, graduate students are helping veterans overcome the debilitating symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, develop anger management and coping strategies, and successfully recover from chronic homelessness and substance abuse.

For more information or to request an expert, please contact Elinor Gilbert , (213) 283-4255, or egilbert@thechicagoschool.edu.

SOURCE The Chicago School of Professional Psychology