• Missing the Boat on the Deadly Cost of Caring?
• CAM Therapies in Behavioral Health
  
• Redefining Private Practice
  
• Novel Boundary Challenges
  
• Parents Reject “Wonder Drug”
  
• Healing Wounds of War Takes Its Toll
  
• Safety First
  

Some Parents Reject “Wonder Drug” for Down Syndrome
According to a survey cited in the Los Angeles Times, 27% of parents with children who have Down syndrome who were polled would choose not to give their children a new “wonder drug” for the condition. Find out why.

Healing Wounds of War Takes Its Toll
The New York Times reports on the high level of compassion fatigue experienced by military mental health professionals who counsel soldiers with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Safety First
MSNBC features an Associated Press report on the rising fear of Michigan caseworkers concerned about their safety and security as they work with angry, frustrated individuals who are unemployed.

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The investigation into the recent shootings at Fort Hood Army base will continue for months, perhaps years, until some clarity or resolution is reached about what caused an Army psychiatrist to open fire on innocent bystanders. In the meantime, the preliminary information on the background and behaviors of the alleged shooter are of interest to mental health professionals at risk for compassion fatigue and those who work with them.

This month’s exclusive examines what we know so far about Major Hasan’s remote and recent past, and our writer offers food for thought about whether this incident may have been a missed opportunity for intervention with a deeply troubled individual possibly experiencing vicarious traumatization from his work with severely injured war veterans. Nothing can be proven so early in the investigation—or maybe ever—but it is worth taking a look at the case to see if there were red flags that military administrators and Hasan’s colleagues could have addressed more aggressively.

We know that hindsight is 20/20, but if such incidents go unexamined by mental health professionals when there is an opportunity to learn more about a psychiatric condition that could have been identified and treated before violence occurred, the loss incurred in such tragedies is even greater.

Please visit our Web site at www.SocialWorkToday.com and become a fan of Social Work Today on Facebook! We welcome your comments at SWTeditor@gvpub.com.

— Marianne Mallon, editor

Missing the Boat on the Deadly Cost of Caring?
By Mila Ruiz Tecala, LICSW, DCSW

On Thursday, November 6, 2009, at the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood Army base in Texas, as soldiers were waiting to get final medical clearance for deployment to Afghanistan, the peace was shattered by gunfire. When it was over, 13 were dead and 39 injured. A civilian policewoman, who also was injured in the shootout, stopped the alleged shooter, Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan. Hasan, who took an oath “to do no harm” allegedly committed a heinous crime never before seen in any U.S. Army installation. There is much unconfirmed information about Hasan, but can anything be learned from what is known so far?

Hasan was born and raised in northern Virginia of Lebanese parents. Neighbors and family describe him as a nice, peaceful man. He graduated from Virginia Tech and attended medical school at the U.S. Health Uniform Services, the government medical school in Bethesda, MD. Military service was required as part of the contract for receiving free medical education from this university.

 (FULL STORY)

Complementary and Alternative Therapies in Behavioral Health
How are complementary and alternative therapies being integrated into behavioral health? Read more

Redefining Private Practice — Smart Ideas for a Changing Economy
For a private practice to thrive in this economy, diversification is a must. Read more

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