Psychological Health

The Psychological Health portfolio focuses on studies examining the mental health impact and consequences of military service in order to improve the functioning and well being of Service Members on a wide variety of relevant military mental health issues.  The portfolio gives special attention to the underlying causes, risk factors, consequences, symptoms and treatments of psychological trauma.  Individual projects often span a number of TATRC portfolios such as Modeling and Simulation, Imaging, Integrative Medicine, and Resilience and Retraining and partner with programs for psychological health within the Department of Defense, other federal agencies, academia and industry.   Studies extend from the “bench to the battlefield” ranging from explorations of biological mechanisms in PTSD to innovative remote deployments of psychological treatments in austere environments.   Examples of topics recently targeted by work in this portfolio include: 1) Developing a clearer understanding of the long-term consequences and impacts of psychological trauma; 2) Examining innovative use of technology to create new models for mental health treatment; 3) Exploring care delivery models for providing psychological support to rural veterans and their communities; and 4) Investigating the use of remote and automated screening tools in the diagnosis and assessment of psychological status and functioning.