Colleagues,

Please encourage your staff, students, contacts to attend this
important and informative workshop.  Pre-registration is required (form
attached).  

October 2, 2007, 1-5pm, Warwood Center, Wheeling, WV
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Assessment and Treatment of Returning
Combat Zone Veterans and Secondary PTSD Effects on Children
R. Jeremy Harrison, MSW, LGSW, Therapist, Vet Center,
Wheeling, WV and Iraq Combat Veteran and Susan Herald, MPA, MSW, LGSW
Child Therapist, Monongalia County Child Advocacy Center
CEU’s: 4 Social Work hours, 3.5 LPC hours
Registration Fee: $45 (WVU Students/Faculty $10)

Over one million servicemen and women have already returned from the
Global War on Terrorism and there is no abrupt end in sight. Statistics
show that at least 1-in-5 combat veterans have symptoms of Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The readjustment impact on
individuals, loved ones, neighbors, and communities is a growing area of
concern for social service practitioners nationwide. In West Virginia,
this concern is magnified due to the high proportion of active military
personnel from the state.

The first part of this workshop will offer an overview for service
providers of the assessment and treatment of readjustment problems
experienced by servicemen and women who are and will continue to return
to their homes and communities. PTSD can manifest in economic need (such
as housing, employment, or benefit programs), as well as in occurrences
of marital discord, domestic violence, sexual and child abuse. Specific
information such as causes, physical and emotional symptoms, methods of
coping, and methods of treating PTSD will be covered. Additionally, the
workshop will identify specific needs of returning veterans, such as
financial and job assistance, and resources available to them and their
families.

The second part of this workshop will explore Secondary PTSD, with a
particular emphasis on the children of returning servicemen and
servicewomen.  Successful transitions can be aided by the collaboration
of many providers to identify, prevent, and treat symptoms. This section
of the workshop will offer an overview for service providers of the
assessment and treatment of readjustment problems experienced by
children of veterans returning from war.  Specific information such as
causes, physical and emotional symptoms, methods of coping, and methods
of treating secondary PTSD will be covered.  Additionally, the workshop
will identify specific treatment needs of these children.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the workshop, participants
will be able to describe PTSD and some of its major causes and symptoms;
identify particular areas of concern regarding PTSD in servicemen and
women returning from the Global War on Terrorism; recognize common
readjustment problems likely to be experienced by individuals, families,
and communities; identify resources available to servicemen and women
for PTSD assessment and treatment; describe secondary PTSD and some of
its major causes and symptoms; recognize common readjustment problems
likely to be experienced by children of veterans; and identify resources
available for secondary PTSD assessment and treatment.