PTSD and Veteran-Related Resources
The following is a list of web-based resources for providers who treat Veterans with PTSD and other trauma-related disorders. These include treatment resources, educational information, helpful provider toolkits, mobile apps, and reimbursement programs. Some are designed to be shared with Veterans and their loved ones, while others are tools and trainings for providers. This list of resources is the end result of Division 56's Task Force on Meeting the Needs of Veterans in the Community. Please download the complete resource guide or browse the various links and other information below.
Veterans Crisis Line: www.veteranscrisisline.net - 800-273-TALK (8255) then press 1; or text 838255. Available to Veterans and their families 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Staffed by VA mental health professionals.
Coaching into Care: www.mirecc.va.gov/coaching - Telephone coaching by licensed clinicians to educate, support, and empower family members and friends who are seeking care or services for a veteran.
National Center for PTSD: www.ptsd.va.gov - Includes many resources to help veterans and their families understand PTSD and PTSD treatment including videos, self-help tools, phone apps, and materials to read.
- PTSD Decision Aid: www.ptsd.va.gov/decisionaid - An online tool that helps veterans learn about evidence-based treatment options.
- Whiteboard Videos: www.ptsd.va.gov/public/materials/videos/whiteboards.asp - A collection of short animated videos about PTSD and effective treatments.
- AboutFace: www.ptsd.va.gov/AboutFace - Brief videos of veterans, providers, and family membersdiscussing PTSD and PTSD treatment.
- PTSD Coach Online: www.ptsd.va.gov/apps/PTSDCoachOnline Self-help tools for managing symptoms and coping with stress; includes coaching videos from therapists.
Find a VA Hospital: www.va.gov/directory/guide/home.asp
Explore All VA Benefits: www.explore.va.gov - Designed as a starting place for anyone looking for information about VA healthcare, disability compensation, employment services, etc.
Make the Connection: www.maketheconnection.net An online resource designed to connect Veterans, their family members and friends, and other supporters with information, resources, and solutions to issues affecting their lives.
PTSD Consultation Program: www.ptsd.va.gov/consult - (PTSDconsult@va.gov or 866-948-7800) Expert clinicians from the National Center for PTSD provide free consultation via email or phone about assessment, diagnosis, treatment, resources, education, and anything else related to treating veterans with PTSD. Free monthly webinar with CEUs.
VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for PTSD: www.healthquality.va.gov/guidelines/MH/ptsd/ - Reviews the evidence for a variety of treatments for PTSD and makes recommendations about incorporating this information into practice for treating veterans with PTSD. Newly revised in 2017.
National Center for PTSD: www.ptsd.va.gov - VA's Center of Excellence for research and education about trauma and PTSD. The website contains many resources for Veterans, their families, and providers.
- Assessment Overview: www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/assessment/overview/index.asp
- Clinician's Guide to Medications for PTSD: www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treatment/overview/clinicians-guide-to-medications-for- ptsd.asp
- VA PTSD Treatment Programs: www.ptsd.va.gov/public/treatment/therapy-med/va-ptsd-treatment-programs.asp
Information about Military Sexual Trauma: www.mentalhealth.va.gov/msthome.asp
Cogsmart for TBI: www.cogsmart.com - Cognitive Symptom Management and Rehabilitation Therapy is a form of cognitive training to help people improve their skills in prospective memory, attention, learning/memory, and executive functioning. Free manuals and resources available.
PTSD 101 Courses: www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/continuing_ed - Over 40 free online courses from the National Center for PTSD, many with free CEUs. A monthly live webinar is also available.
Center for Deployment Psychology: www.deploymentpsych.org - Resources and a variety of free trainings. Includes a section on military culture (see below).
Military Cultural Competency resources and course: www.deploymentpsych.org/military-culture
PsychArmor Institute: www.psycharmor.org - Free education for providers, employers, caregivers, educators and others. Some with free CEUs.
Prolonged Exposure Therapy on-line training: http://pe.musc.edu - A web-based course from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Cognitive Processing Therapy on-line training: https://cpt.musc.edu - A web-based course from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing Therapy training information: www.emdr.com
Star Behavioral Health Providers: www.starproviders.org Training available to providers in selected states for civilians providers who are interested in treating service members and veterans. Providers receive training in military culture and treatment and are listed in a registry of specially trained providers.
VA Campus Toolkit: www.mentalhealth.va.gov/studentveteran - Provides faculty, staff, and administrators resources to support student Veterans.
Veterans Employment Toolkit: www.va.gov/vetsinworkplace - Designed to help employers, managers and supervisors, human resource professionals, and employee assistance program (EAP) providers relate to and support their employees who are Veterans and members of the Reserve and National Guard.
Community Provider Toolkit: www.mentalhealth.va.gov/communityproviders - For mental health providers who treat veterans outside the VA health care system. Resources include information on screening for military service, handouts and trainings to increase knowledge about military culture and mini-clinics focused on relevant aspects of behavioral health and wellness.
Reimbursement for Treating Veterans and Service Members
Becoming a VA Veterans Choice Program Provider: www.va.gov/opa/choiceact/for_providers.asp
Tricare: http://tricare.mil/Providers
NOTE: All of these mobile applications are free downloads to smartphones/tablets using the indicated operating system.
My HealtheVet: Mobile Blue Button for Veterans - https://mobile.va.gov/app/mobile-blue-button (iOS & Android)
Helps veterans manage their health care needs and communicate with their care teams. They can access, print, download and store information from the VA Electronic Health Record (EHR) in a secure, reliable and simple way.
Mental Health Apps
LifeArmor - http://t2health.dcoe.mil/apps/lifearmor (iOS & Android)
Users can browse information on 17 topics, including sleep, depression, relationship issues, and post-traumatic stress. Brief self-assessments help the user measure and track their symptoms, and tools are available to assist with managing specific problems. Videos relevant to each topic provide personal stories from other service members, veterans, and military family members.
PTSD Apps
PTSD Coach - www.ptsd.va.gov/public/materials/apps/PTSDCoach.asp (iOS & Android)
Can help people manage symptoms that often occur after trauma. Features include information on PTSD and treatments, tools for screening and tracking symptoms, tools to handle stress, direct links to support and help.
CPT Coach - www.ptsd.va.gov/public/materials/apps/cpt_mobileapp_public.asp (iOS only)
A treatment-companion app for patients to use with their therapist while in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT). Includes education about CPT, ability to track PTSD symptoms over time, homework assignments and worksheets, tools to track between-session tasks, and reminders for therapy appointments.
PE Coach - https://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/materials/apps/pecoach_mobileapp-public.asp (iOS & Android)
A treatment-companion app for patients to use with their therapist while in Prolonged Exposure (PE) Therapy. Includes education about PE, ability to record PE therapy session, ability to track PTSD symptoms over time, homework assignments and worksheets, tools to track between-session tasks, and reminders to complete homework, and guidance for breathing retraining.
T2 Mood Tracker - http://t2health.dcoe.mil/apps/t2-mood-tracker (iOS & Android)
Allows users to monitor and track emotional health. Originally developed as a tool for service members to easily record and review their behavior changes, particularly after combat deployments, it has now become very popular with many civilian users around the world.
ACT Coach - http://t2health.dcoe.mil/apps/ACTCoach (iOS only)
A treatment-companion app for patients to use with their therapist while in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Features include mindfulness exercises to practice the ACT core concepts, tools to help identify personal values and take concrete actions to live one's life by them, educational materials about ACT, logs to keep track of useful copying strategies.
Positive Activity Jackpot - http://t2health.dcoe.mil/apps/positiveactivityjackpot (Android only)
Uses a professional behavioral health therapy called pleasant event scheduling (PES), which is used to overcome depression and build resilience. This app features augmented reality technology to help users find nearby enjoyable activities and makes activity suggestions with local options and the ability to invite friends. Users can also "pull the lever" and let the app's jackpot function make the choice for them.
Anxiety and Stress Apps
Virtual Hope Box - http://t2health.dcoe.mil/apps/virtual-hope-box (iOS & Android)
Designed for use by patients and their behavioral health providers as an accessory to treatment. The VHB provides help with emotional regulation and coping with stress via personalized supportive audio, video, pictures, games, mindfulness exercises, positive messages and activity planning, inspirational quotes, coping statements, and other tools.
Moving Forward - www.veterantraining.va.gov/movingforward (iOS only)
Designed to help veterans and service members use stress management and problem solving tools on-the-go. It can be used alone, or in combination with the Moving Forward online course.
Breathe2Relax - http://t2health.dcoe.mil/apps/breathe2relax (iOS & Android)
A portable stress management too that includes hands-on diaphragmatic breathing exercises. Users can record their stress level on a 'visual analogue scale' by simply swiping a small bar to the left or to the right.
Tactical Breather - http://t2health.dcoe.mil/apps/tactical-breather (iOS & Android)
Used to gain control over physiological and psychological responses to stress. Through repetitive practice and training, users can learn to gain control of their heart rate, emotions, concentration, and other physiological and psychological responses to the body during stressful situations.
Mindfulness Coach - http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/materials/apps/mobileapp_mindfulness_coach.asp (iOS only)
Designed to be used alone or as a part of treatment. Features include education about mindfulness, mindfulness exercises, strategies to help overcome challenges to mindfulness practice, log of mindfulness exercises to track progress, and reminders to support mindfulness practice.
Insomnia/Sleep Apps CBT-i Coach - https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/materials/apps/cbticoach_app_pro.asp (iOS & Android)
Designed for use by people who are participating in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i) treatment. Features include: interactive sleep diary for daily logging of sleep habits; validated measure of insomnia severity, the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI); automatic calculation of the sleep prescription with therapist adjustment options; tools to improve sleep, including relaxation exercises; psychoeducation about sleep, healthy habits and CBT-I therapy; and customizable reminders to alert user to sleep hygiene, to record sleep habits, and to take sleep assessments.
Smoking/Tobacco Cessation Apps
Stay Quit Coach - www.mobile.va.gov/app/stay-quit-coach (iOS only)
Designed to help Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) quit smoking. It guides users in creating a tailored plan that takes into account their personal reasons for quitting. It provides information about smoking and quitting, interactive tools to help users cope with urges to smoke, and motivational messages and support contacts to help users stay smoke-free. This treatment is based on evidence-based clinical practices, and has been shown to double quit rates for Veterans with PTSD.
Weight management
MOVE! Coach - www.mobile.va.gov/app/move-coach (iOS only)
A weight loss app for Veterans, service members, their families, and others who want to lose weight. This 19-week program guides the participants to achieve success with weight loss through education, and use of tools, in an easy and convenient way. Participants can monitor, track, and receive feedback regarding their progress with weight, diet, and exercise goals.
Pain
WebMD Pain Coach - www.webmd.com/webmdpaincoachapp (iOS, & Android)
Allows patients to monitor and track their pain level on a scale of 1 to 10. They can also track triggers, treatment, mood, and more. Includes tips and goals organized into 5 lifestyle categories: food, rest, exercise, mood and treatments.
TBI/Concussion Concussion Coach - http://www.polytrauma.va.gov/ConcussionCoach.asp (iOS only)
For Veterans, Servicemembers, and others who have experienced a mild to moderate concussion. It provides portable tools to assess symptoms and to facilitate use of coping strategies.
mTBI Pocket Guide - http://t2health.dcoe.mil/apps/mtbi (iOS & Android)
For health care providers. Gives instant access to a comprehensive quick-reference guide on improving care for mTBI patients. Designed to reflect current clinical standards of care, it can help providers improve quality of care and clinical outcomes for patients. Use it to find information on assessing, treating, and managing common symptoms of mTBI patients. It offers clinicians a wide range of diagnostic, treatment and information resources.
Parenting
Parenting2Go - http://t2health.dcoe.mil/apps/Parenting2Go (iOS only)
Parenting2Go and the companion online course Parenting for Service Members and Veterans give military and veteran parents tools to help them reconnect with their families after a deployment and build closer relationships with their children anytime. It has five main components: A tool that helps parents shift gears between work and home in order to be more mentally "present" for their children; quick tips on topics related to reconnecting with families after a deployment; tools to help parents when they are feeling stressed or overwhelmed with parenting demands; an evidenced-based strategy that allows parents to count their positive and negative comments to their child; and access to a user's personal contacts and other resources to support their parenting efforts.
Biofeedback
BioZen - http://t2health.dcoe.mil/apps/biozen (Android only)
Can be paired with external sensors to provides users with live data covering a range of biophysiological signals, including electroencephalogram (EEG), electromyography (EMG), galvanic skin response (GSR), electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), respiratory rate, and temperature.
Using BioZen requires compatible biosensor devices. BioZen can display several brain wave bands (Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma) separately, as well as combinations of several bands using algorithms that may indicate relevant cognitive states, such as meditation and attention. BioZen features a meditation module that represents psychological information with user-selectable graphics that change in response to the user's biometric data. Biometric data is recorded in real time, so users can observe relationships between recorded biophysiological data and their thoughts and behavior. Users can create notes to document and categorize their recording session. BioZen automatically generates graphical feedback from the recording sessions to allow users to monitor their progress over time.