APA Joins With Give An Hour To Help Military Families, USA

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Mental Health
Article Date: 14 Feb 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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The American Psychiatric Association (APA) announced it is joining with Give an Hour to provide mental health services to American troops and families impacted by deployment to Afghanistan, Iraq and the Persian Gulf.

"APA members are eager to give their time to make a real difference in the lives of military service members as well as their close family members who struggle with issues related to their service," said APA President Carolyn Robinowitz, M.D.

"Give an Hour provides a simple process that will allow APA members to offer their time and unique skills to help troops who have served our country," Robinowitz said.

Give an Hour has developed a national network of volunteers capable of responding to both acute and chronic conditions within society in order to match mental health care providers with individuals in need. Currently, there are nearly 1,000 providers nationwide.

Psychiatrists can visit www.giveanhour.org and fill out a brief form to join the Give an Hour network. Once accepted, psychiatrists are asked to commit to giving one hour a week to an individual or family seeking help through the program for at least a year.

"The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan provide an opportunity to reach out to those in need to ensure that they can continue to function," said Barbara Romberg, Ph.D., founder and president of Give an Hour. "As mental health professionals, we represent a tremendous resource and now have the opportunity, through Give an Hour, to respond to this clear and obvious need."

"The APA has stepped up in a way that is really going to make a difference both in terms of the number of providers available and the kinds of services we can offer," Romberg said. The APA is encouraging members to visit www.giveanhour.org to learn more and consider joining the network. APA will post Give an Hour information on its Web site and share information with members.

About the American Psychiatric Association

The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society whose more than 38,000 physician members specialize in diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses including substance use disorders. Visit the APA at http://www.psych.org and http://www.HealthyMinds.org.

American Psychiatric Association