Veterans' `welcome home' deficient without mental health screening.

Byline: GUEST VIEWPOINT By Steven Merwin For The Register-Guard

As I read and rejoice about our warriors returning from a long stay in the Middle East, I know that our work has just begun.

We are the people our young men and women went to war for. They were there offering their lives for us, in our name.

Whether we support the war in the Middle East is not the question. These young people make a supreme sacrifice by following the call to join the U.S. military for whatever reason.

They have offered their lives for our county. When they come home, they are members of our community, and we need to honor their commitment.

We need to make sure that they do not become casualty-of-war statistics. We should not allow any of these vets to become the veteran who cannot keep a job, or the vet whose family breaks up because of the anger, or the homeless vet on the corner, or the veteran who takes his or her own life. These casualties can be prevented.

Reintegrating a wartime vet back into our community is our job. These young people are not the same innocent kids who left their homes and went to war. It is our responsibility to see that they get the help they need to integrate back into society.

A crucial aspect of reintegration that is often overlooked or marginalized is the potential negative psychological and emotional changes a vet may experience upon returning home. Hopefully, we have all learned from our World War II and Vietnam veterans that early, strategic psychological interventions are vital to our veterans' continued well-being.

Yes, flags and speeches have welcomed our heroes home. These brave young soldiers are arriving home from a reality that many of us have no idea about. They may or may not have physical damage, but emotional damage is not visible.

To go from the streets of Baghdad to their old jobs at Burger King, or teaching, or whatever, is not easy for many. The transition from being a combat soldier to being a husband, a wife, a dad, a mom or the kid on the block may be very difficult.

I am a Vietnam-era vet and have worked therapeutically with many World War II and Vietnam-era vets. Their experiences have taught me that we cannot ignore what they may have experienced.

I also have seen how therapy by a skilled mental health practitioner can help these vets and their families. An effective therapist can use many tools to process vets' experiences. The effects of counseling on vets' lives should not be minimized, or it can allow unresolved issues to lie dormant, much like a volcano that is ready to explode later. Our veterans deserve the support to start that emotional healing now.

Symptoms a vet may experience include inappropriate anger, depression, anxiety, isolation, panic attacks, excessive drug and alcohol use, flashbacks, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, disassociation or just not feeling "all right."

When we notice any of these signs, it is our responsibility to encourage vets to seek professional help. Our warriors have been conditioned not to show emotions, but the expression of emotions in a therapeutic setting is necessary. We also need vets to give their families, friends and community members the permission to express their concerns when they notice negative changes in their emotional well-being.

This help can come by seeking out a licensed mental health provider. The names of these clinicians can be found in the vets' insurance listings for outpatient mental health providers. This listing will provide information about the therapists who can provide services under a particular insurance plan.

It is important to find somebody that the individual can relate to and who has the appropriate skills to work with war and combat issues. It's OK to shop around for the right match. The therapeutic relationship is very crucial to healing.

For those who do not have insurance, some mental health agencies that accept payment on a sliding scale may be able to help. White Bird Clinic is one; counseling information is available by calling 342-8255, or the clinic's crisis line can be reached at 687-4000. The Center for Community Counseling, 344-0620, is another resource.

Welcome back our military men and women, and rejoice for their safe return. But remember, the healing starts now.

Steven Merwin (e-mail address: smerwinlcsw@ informproductions.com) is a licensed clinical social worker in private practice in Eugene.