Course Summary

Current and former members of the United States military may not always volunteer information about their military service. Veterans may not be willing to share their experiences, especially when such awareness causes them mental anguish. Military deployment may have a profound effect on men and women who have served in regions of conflict and war. Understanding mental illness in the veteran population and how to screen, diagnose, and treat mental illness is important for healthcare professionals committed to the health and welfare of veterans and their families.

Course Format

Homestudy

Course Syllabus

• Introduction
• Mental Health Disorders in Veterans
  • Screening for Military Service
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria for PTSD
  • PTSD Screening in Primary Care
• Symptom-Driven Diagnostic Screening for Primary Care
  • Trauma-Driven Screening
  • Self-Report Screening Instruments
• Depression in Veterans
  • Patient Health Questionnaire-2
  • Patient Health Questionnaire 9
• Grieving in the Veteran Population
  • Traumatic Grief
  • Complications of Bereavement
• Risk of Veteran Suicide
  • Suicidal Ideation
  • Suicide Risk Factors
• Suicide Risk Prevention
• Case Study: PTSD in an Afghanistan Veteran
• VA Study: Opioid Safety and Veteran’s Suicide
•  Summary

Authors

William Cook, PhD

William Cook, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist who worked for 15 years in private practice in Montana before leaving his practice to work full time as the Director of CE4Less. He earned his doctorate degree from Texas A&M University, and focused much of his psychology practice in the area of child and family counseling, as well as psychological testing. Dr. Cook likes new challenges, foreign traveling to Africa and areas of Europe and the near East, scuba diving, running, music, and spending time with his family.

Susan Depasquale, MA, MSN, PMHNP-BC

Susan DePasquale is a board certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. Her current practice is with families, youth and adults who have mental illnesses in both inpatient and outpatient settings, including telepsychiatry for Montana, Washington and Wisconsin communities. She completed her Masters of Art in Political Science at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Masters of Science in Nursing at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington with a focus in neurogastroenterology and the Post-Masters of Science in Nursing at the Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana with a focus in psychiatry. She has worked with small and rural healthcare teams in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, Canada, and in teaching and research hospitals such as Providence Health and Virginia Mason Medical Center Digestive and Liver Disease Departments in Seattle. Since 2012, she has been actively involved in online continuing education program development for nurses and health teams.