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Veterans with Psychiatric Disabilities in Community Colleges: Recommendations for Supported Education Psychiatric disabilities can be defined as mental health struggles which interfere significantly with an individual's engagement in activities of [...], The Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership-Supported Education (VITAL-SEd) program is an emerging evidence-based intervention that has been shown to support Veterans with psychiatric disabilities in higher education settings. Community colleges are an ideal setting to promote SEd practices as a vocational rehabilitation strategy to improve employment outcomes for this population. The purpose of this research was to report numbers of Veterans with psychiatric disabilities served in the State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) service-delivery system, those who attended community college, and their employment outcomes in order to examine the need for SEd approaches. A total of 12,644 cases of State VR participants who were Veterans were analyzed for this study. A chi-square analysis indicated that there was a significant relationship between having a primary and/or secondary psychiatric disability and not obtaining employment after receiving State VR services for Veterans served in State VR agencies, X2 (1, N = 7,953) = 130.60, p < .001, The effect size was small, d = .13. Of all Veterans served in State VR agencies, a total of 38 Veterans with psychiatric disabilities received assistance to attend community college, and nine of those Veterans achieved employment in competitive and integrated settings. Based on these findings, recommendations have been provided to promote education for VR counselors, increase State VR collaboration with the Veterans Affairs, to increase VR collaboration with community colleges, and to promote SEd model strategies that may improve employment outcomes for this population. Keywords: Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Supported Education, RSA-911, State Vocational Rehabilitation, Veterans, Community College

The purpose of this review is to compare the treatment of alcohol addiction from different perspectives: On one hand, the perspective of an American psychotherapist, on the other hand, the perspective of a German acute care and addiction medicine physician. The authors provide an in-depth review comparing various strategies for treating alcohol dependence. This paper focuses on acute care, rehabilitation, psychotherapy, motivational interviewing, harm reduction, and psychopharmacology as the primary therapeutic modalities for treating alcohol addiction. This is investigated in the context of the author's respective healthcare and rehabilitation systems and cultural particularities relevant to alcohol use disorder. Based on the literature review, the authors found that the main treatment modalities were common in both countries, regardless of cultural differences. Germany has an overall lower regulation on alcohol (including a lower drinking age) and a higher alcohol per capita consumption with fewer lifetime abstainers in former drinkers. One major finding between the two countries is that the access to the professional addiction aid system is more accessible in Germany compared to the United States. On the contrary, the self-help sector within the United States is much more developed, utilized and accepted by healthcare and rehabilitation professionals. Overall, both countries' healthcare systems are making intentional efforts to address and improve the treatment of alcohol use disorder. Improving research for evidence-based treatment will need to expand in order to stay current with the challenges and trends in alcohol use in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This literature review examines research on co-occurring substance use disorders (SUDs) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among the veteran population. Authors share the prevalence of co-occurring SUD and PTSD and highlight how integrated treatment of SUDs and PTSD may be beneficial within this population. The Seeking Safety Model Integrated treatment model is explored, along with other recommended evidence-based practices. The benefits of recovery-oriented psychiatric rehabilitation approaches to treatment that include integrated SUD and PTSD treatment, peer support, and Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model supported employment strategies are shared. Future recommendations are suggested based on current literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This extensive literature review investigates the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD), focusing on the neurobiological changes associated with their co-occurrence. Given that these disorders frequently coexist, we analyze mechanisms through which alcohol serves as a coping strategy for PTSD symptoms, particularly highlighting the drinking-to-cope self-medication model, which suggests that alcohol use exacerbates PTSD symptoms and complicates recovery., Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted across multiple databases, including PubMed and Google Scholar, to identify studies examining the intersection of the biopsychosocial model with PTSD, AUD, and associated neural alterations., Results: Findings demonstrate that chronic PTSD is associated with progressive dysfunction in the amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and white matter pathways. Also, our findings underscore alterations within the reward system, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, basal ganglia, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis that contribute to the pathophysiology of AUD. Our results support the notion that a biopsychosocial framework is essential for contemporary addiction treatment, particularly in the context of alcohol addiction and PTSD., Conclusion: PTSD frequently leads individuals to use alcohol as a maladaptive coping strategy, ultimately resulting in neuroadaptive alterations across critical brain regions. These neurobiological changes contribute to the development and maintenance of AUD. The findings reiterate the necessity of employing a biopsychosocial model in treating individuals grappling with both PTSD and AUD. This model allows for a comprehensive understanding of the unique challenges faced by this population, integrating biological, psychological, and social factors that influence recovery., (© 2024 The Author(s). Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)