SUMMARY:

Author Matt Green shares his unique perspective as an embedded reporter with U.S. troops in Iraq, as well as his observations from working with returning British veterans. He has spent the past 14 years working as a correspondent for the Financial Times and Reuters and has reported from more than 30 countries, most recently Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he investigated subjects including the money men bankrolling the Taliban and the kingpins behind Pakistan's heroin trade.

After studying Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University, Matthew began his career with Reuters, working in east and west Africa and in Iraq, where he was embedded with US Marines during the invasion in 2003.

He later joined the Financial Times, working in Nigeria and then Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he spent time with US forces deployed to Helmand and Kandahar provinces in the Obama administration's troop surge.

Matthew is now based in London and appears regularly as a commentator on the BBC News Channel and World Service radio, and writes for publications including Monocle magazine and the Literary Review. His first book was The Wizard of the Nile: The Hunt for Joseph Kony, which won a Jerwood Award from the Royal Society of Literature and was long-listed for the Orwell Prize.

IN THIS PARTICULAR EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN:

Similarities between Coalition Forces veteran mental health and U.S. veteran mental health

The gap between resources available and the ability to access those services

Stigma and the military mindset

Posttrauamtic Growth, and the danger of relying on the concept of posttrauamtic growth as a "positive" that comes out of trauma.

Going beyond PTSD to the other mental health concerns

The benefit of Peer Support in recovery and stigma reduction

The impact of psychological injury on military families

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Time for a radical rethink on how we approach veterans mental health services: Guest Editorial, Journal of Public Mental Health, Volume 16, No 1, 2017

Aftershock: The Untold Story of Surviving Peace: Over the last decade, we have sent thousands of people to fight on our behalf. But what happens when these soldiers come back home, having lost their friends and killed their enemies, having seen and done things that have no place in civilian life? In Aftershock, Matthew Green tells the story of our veterans' journey from the frontline of combat to the reality of return.

The Enemy Within: A radio documentary co-produced by Matthew Green on the impact of veteran mental health on a service member's family. Coming home from war can be messy, especially when the battle doesn't stay on the battlefield. This is the story of what it means to love and care for soldiers who have brought the war home with them.

Rock To Recovery: Inspiring the fight against stress in British Armed Forces, Veterans and their Families. Their mission: “To preserve lives of distressed servicemen, veterans and their families by connecting them to appropriate mental health professionals for emergency and routine help. To inspire and motivate sufferers to a better future through the power of creativity."

Theater of War: Theater of War presents readings of Sophocles’ Ajax and Philoctetes to military and civilian communities across the United States and Europe. These ancient plays timelessly and universally depict the visible and invisible wounds of war. By presenting these plays to military and civilian audiences, our hope is to de-stigmatize psychological injury, increase awareness of post-deployment psychological health issues, disseminate information regarding available resources, and foster greater family, community, and troop resilience.

Are you looking for more ways to learn about military and veteran mental health and wellness? Check out Duane's books by going to www.veteranmentalhealth.com/books

About Today’s Guest:

Maureen joined the Army in 2001. During her military career she served in Darmstadt, Germany and Monterey, California. She was promoted to corporal in June 2004 and sergeant in February 2005. Maureen was awarded the Army Achievement Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.

Maureen currently lives in Bowie, Maryland and serves as an ambassador for the Travis Manion Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping Veterans and their families. She received a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling in 2017 and is the assistant director for the Veterans Health Council at Vietnam Veterans of America. Since 2017, Maureen also graduated from the Armed Services Arts Partnership program and has been named a High Ground Veterans Advocacy Fellow, the Fort Meade Spouse of the Year and a Veterans in Global Leadership Fellow.

In this Episode, you will learn:

• Maureen's background and experience
• The 2019 VA/DOD Suicide Prevention Conference
• Sharing the research around SMVF Suicide Prevention
• Suicide Risk Prevention Workshops
• Workshop participants
  • Community members
  • First Responders
  • Department of Transportation
• Barriers to treatment
• Creating a safe space for sharing painful experiences
• Maureen's personal experience with suicide
• The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide
• Effective legislative advocacy

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Connect with Maureen on Social Media:

LinkedIn

Join the Head Space and Timing community on Flick

Want to learn more about Service Members, Veterans, and Military Family Member Mental Health?

Check out this webinar series.

Do you want to help offset some of the costs of the Head Space and Timing Blog and Podcast? Want to show your appreciation and support? You can put some paper in the tip jar by going here

Want to keep up with the latest Head Space and Timing content?

Click here to sign up to receive a weekly newsletter with all new content released that week

Using an app makes subscribing and listening to podcasts (both ours and others) so much simpler. Just subscribe to Head Space and Timing within your app and it will automatically update every time a new episode is released. You can also find all of the podcast players here.

Do you want to check out Duane’s latest book, Combat Vet Don’t Mean Crazy: Veteran Mental Health in Post-Military Life

Would you like to be a guest on Head Space and Timing? Follow This Link.

Are you looking for more ways to learn about military and veteran mental health and wellness? Check out Duane's books by going to www.veteranmentalhealth.com/books

About Today’s Guest:

Maureen joined the Army in 2001. During her military career she served in Darmstadt, Germany and Monterey, California. She was promoted to corporal in June 2004 and sergeant in February 2005. Maureen was awarded the Army Achievement Medal and the Army Commendation Medal.

Maureen currently lives in Bowie, Maryland and serves as an ambassador for the Travis Manion Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping Veterans and their families. She received a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling in 2017 and is the assistant director for the Veterans Health Council at Vietnam Veterans of America. Since 2017, Maureen also graduated from the Armed Services Arts Partnership program and has been named a High Ground Veterans Advocacy Fellow, the Fort Meade Spouse of the Year and a Veterans in Global Leadership Fellow.

In this Episode, you will learn:

• Maureen's background and experience
• The 2019 VA/DOD Suicide Prevention Conference
• Sharing the research around SMVF Suicide Prevention
• Suicide Risk Prevention Workshops
• Workshop participants
  • Community members
  • First Responders
  • Department of Transportation
• Barriers to treatment
• Creating a safe space for sharing painful experiences
• Maureen's personal experience with suicide
• The Interpersonal Theory of Suicide
• Effective legislative advocacy

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Connect with Maureen on Social Media:

LinkedIn

Join the Head Space and Timing community on Flick

Want to learn more about Service Members, Veterans, and Military Family Member Mental Health?

Check out this webinar series.

Do you want to help offset some of the costs of the Head Space and Timing Blog and Podcast? Want to show your appreciation and support? You can put some paper in the tip jar by going here

Want to keep up with the latest Head Space and Timing content?

Click here to sign up to receive a weekly newsletter with all new content released that week

Using an app makes subscribing and listening to podcasts (both ours and others) so much simpler. Just subscribe to Head Space and Timing within your app and it will automatically update every time a new episode is released. You can also find all of the podcast players here.

Do you want to check out Duane’s latest book, Combat Vet Don’t Mean Crazy: Veteran Mental Health in Post-Military Life

Would you like to be a guest on Head Space and Timing? Follow This Link.