Free Training Helps Campus Health Professionals Support the Combat to College Transition

NEW YORK, July 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Jed Foundation and the Bob Woodruff Foundation announced today the launch of Understanding and Supporting the Emotional Health of Student Veterans, a free, one-hour CM/CME certified online training to help campus health professionals best support a growing population of student veterans.  The Jed Foundation, a national nonprofit working to promote emotional health and prevent suicide among college students, worked with veterans and campus professionals to develop the training which helps health professionals understand the student veteran perspective, connect with veterans on their campuses, and identify and address emotional health problems related to their service, such as post-traumatic stress and combat depression.

The 2010 changes in the GI Bill and the return of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan have increased the number of veterans pursuing higher education.  Focus groups with student veterans have found that the transition into campus life can be challenging due to changes in work structure and schedule, feeling different from civilian peers, and dealing with the emotional scars of service and combat.   The Jed Foundation's training addresses all aspects of this transition to help campus health professionals best support the success of their veteran populations. It also prepares them to recognize and address signs of suicide, an important part of decreasing the alarming rate of suicide among returning veterans.

"Today's student veterans have sacrificed so much, and it is our duty to ensure they have a healthy, successful college experience," said John MacPhee, Executive Director of The Jed Foundation.  "We have taken the time to listen to those veterans and develop a training that best reflects their needs and the emotional challenges they are facing."

The training was funded by the Bob Woodruff Foundation as part of an ongoing partnership that also includes a series of PSAs with mtvU, MTV's college network, that help bridge the divide between student veterans and their civilian peers (http://www.halfofus.com/video/).

Understanding and Supporting the Emotional Health of Student Veterans is CME/CE certified for physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and licensed mental health counselors.  The webinar is hosted by Bill Smith, BSW, MS, Health Educator with the Office of Student Health & Wellness at The University of Missouri – Kansas City and a highly-decorated Army veteran, and Sheryl Frye, MS, MSW, Assistant Director of Counseling for Military Student Services at Northern Illinois University.  The structure of the program has been planned and implemented by The Jed Foundation and CME Outfitters (www.cmeoutfitters.com) in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.

About The Jed Foundation

The Jed Foundation (TJF) is the nation's leading organization working to promote emotional health and prevent suicide among college students.  TJF materials and tools are available to all colleges and universities throughout the United States.  Founded in 2000 by parents who lost a son to suicide while he was attending college, the organization's award-winning programs include: ULifeline, an online resource that gives students access to campus-specific resources and allows them to take an anonymous emotional health screening; the Peabody Award-winning Half of Us campaign with mtvU, which uses online, on-air and on campus programming to decrease stigma around mental illness and encourage help-seeking; Love is Louder, a movement online and in communities to build connectedness and increase resiliency; and a portfolio of nationally-recognized tools, resources and training programs that help campuses effectively promote mental health and protect at-risk students.  Learn more by visiting www.jedfoundation.org, www.ulifeline.org, www.halfofus.com, or www.loveislouder.com.

About Bob Woodruff Foundation

Co-founded by award-winning ABC News reporter Bob Woodruff after he sustained serious injuries while covering the Iraq War in 2006; The Bob Woodruff Foundation is the national nonprofit that helps ensure our nation's injured service members, veterans and their families return to a home front ready to support them. BWF provides resources and support to service members, veterans and their families to successfully reintegrate into their communities so they may thrive physically, psychologically, socially and economically.

Across the country, the Bob Woodruff Foundation collaborates with organizations and experts to identify and solve issues related to the return of service members from combat to civilian life and invests in programs that connect our troops to the help they need — from individual needs like physical accommodations, job training, financial counseling, to larger social issues like homelessness and suicide.  

Through our charitable investment program, BWF seeks out innovative charitable programs that promote meaningful activity—education, employment, entrepreneurship, volunteerism and community integration—for post-9/11 injured service members and their families. BWF is finding and funding organizations that build strong bodies and sound minds and have programs that bring a sense of hope and fulfillment into warrior's lives.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation has invested $12 million in over 70 organizations, impacting more than 1,000,000 service members, support personnel, veterans and their families nationwide.

For more information about the Bob Woodruff Foundation, please visit www.ReMIND.org

SOURCE The Jed Foundation