PTSD & Substance Abuse
PTSD/Substance Abuse Committee Update January/February 2024
March 1, 2024
BY THOMAS C. HALL, PH.D., CHAIR The PTSD/SA Committee congratulates the VA and especially the Vet Center leadership on establishing two new Vet Centers and three outstations. While we welcome this expansion, we maintain our…
PTSD/Substance Abuse Committee Update September/October 2023
September 28, 2023
BY THOMAS C. HALL, PH.D., CHAIR I have written a lot about the life-saving power and importance of Vet Centers. Vet Centers are part of the VA, but were designed to be more accessible than…
PTSD/Substance Abuse Committee Update July/August 2023
August 3, 2023
BY THOMAS C. HALL, PH.D., CHAIR I have written in many articles about the life saving power and importance of Vet Centers. And while Vet Centers are part of the VA, they were designed to…
PTSD/Substance Abuse Committee Update March/April 2023
April 11, 2023
BY THOMAS C. HALL, PH.D., CHAIR During this last year the PTSD/SA Committee worked to continue to help veterans make their way all the way home. Many of the issues we addressed last year will…
Dr. Thomas Hall Recognized for Contributions to Mental Health Communities Nationwide
August 25, 2022
Dr. Tom Hall, Chair of the VVA PTSD/Substance Abuse Committee, was recently honored with the dedication of a house in his name. The Dr. Thomas Hall House at Benilde Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, will…
PTSD/Substance Abuse Committee Update July/August 2022
August 11, 2022
BY THOMAS C. HALL, PH.D., CHAIR When we returned home from war and sought help for the invisible wounds that resulted from our experiences, the behavioral health services of the VA did not recognize PTSD…
PTSD/Substance Abuse Committee Update May/June 2022
June 5, 2022
BY THOMAS C. HALL, PH.D., CHAIR Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Tip O’Neill is most closely associated with the phrase, “All politics is local.” When advocating for veteran mental health benefits, it…
Is fighting a pandemic like fighting a war?
May 10, 2022
Is fighting a pandemic like fighting a war? Two Vietnam veterans - Thomas Hall, in Kansas, and Marsha Four, in Philadelphia - talk about their wartime experience, the coronavirus, and the parallels they see between…
PTSD/Substance Abuse Committee Update March/April 2022
April 1, 2022
BY THOMAS C. HALL, PH.D., CHAIR Military service is different for each one of us, yet it is always intense. Many veterans have described their combat experience. As former Vietnam War Marine John Musgrave put…
PTSD/Substance Abuse Committee Update November/December 2021
December 8, 2021
BY THOMAS C. HALL, PH.D., CHAIR The PTSD/SA Committee continues to grapple with how to help new veterans manage the symptoms of PTSD. Americans, and especially veterans, may be feeling anguish over recent events in…