Monitoring active service members for mental health issues, including PTSD, is a relatively new initiative, said Retired USMC Col. Willy Buhl, who served as commanding officer of the Wounded Warrior Regiment at Quantico from 2012 to 2014.<\/b>
\nSANTA ANA, Calif. (Tribune News Service) \u2014 Mental health experts and veterans are cautioning the public about making assumptions about linking post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental illnesses to violence in the aftermath of the deadly mass shooting in which 13 lost their lives at a Thousand Oaks dance hall Wednesday night.
Ian David Long, the 28-year-old suspect from Newbury Park, served in the U. S. Marine Corps from August 2008 to March 2013, leaving at the rank of corporal.
He was a machine gunner in infantry combat and was deployed to Afghanistan from Nov. 16,2010 to June 14,2011, Marine Corps officials at the Pentagon said.
The alleged shooter\u2019s neighbor told reporters Wednesday that Long suffered from PTSD, but that has yet to be confirmed.
The Veterans Administration in Washington D. C. said Wednesday that Long was never enrolled in their healthcare system.
Only about 25 percent of veterans who have PTSD access care through the VA, said Dr. Michael Hollifield, who heads the PTSD division at the VA in Long Beach, which handles about 50 consultations a month.
Predicting suicidal or homicidal behavior among those with PTSD can be extremely challenging, he said.
Long had been contacted by authorities in April during a disturbance call where he was \u201cirate\u201d and acting \u201cirrationally.\u201d
Mental health officials cleared him that day and did not place him on a psychiatric hold.
Hollifield said the law states a mental health professional must find an individual to be an \u201cimminent danger\u201d to himself and others in order to be deemed \u201cacutely dangerous.\u201d
\u201cMost people who are evaluated on a one-time basis don\u2019t fall into that category,\u201d he said. \u201cEpisodes that create such volatility might be triggered by other factors such as substance abuse, agitation and anxiety.\u201d
Monitoring active service members for mental health issues, including PTSD, is a relatively new initiative at the Marine Corps, said Retired USMC Col. Willy Buhl, who served as commanding officer of the Wounded Warrior Regiment at Quantico from 2012 to 2014.
Marines undergo a final physical evaluation before they leave the Marine Corps, but the extent of participation in that process depends on the individual, he said.
Those who are diagnosed with PTSD are sent to the Wounded Warrior Battalion for treatment, but only the most severe cases even get that far, Buhl said.
Once they undergo treatment and are discharged, these individuals are handed off to the Veterans Administration. It\u2019s up to the VA to follow up with veterans regarding further services, he said.
\u201cWe don\u2019t have enforcement once they leave the military; we can\u2019t order them to see anyone.\u201d
The Wounded Warrior Regiment comprises a special group of coordinators tasked with keeping tabs on former Marines diagnosed with a physical or mental disability.
While their job is to follow up and make sure these veterans are doing well, they often find themselves in a \u201cmore reactive mode,\u201d sometimes after a tragedy such as Wednesday\u2019s mass shooting, Buhl said.
Linking a veteran\u2019s PTSD to a mass shooting is a way of distracting the public from other real issues such as \u201choles in gun laws and addressing a culture that doesn\u2019t promote gun safety,\u201d said Chris Marvin, a retired combat-wounded Army Officer with Everytown for Gun Safety, a national nonprofit that advocates for gun safety laws.
\u201cIt\u2019s just easy to say this must have happened because he was a mentally-ill veteran,\u201d he said. \u201cAlso, tethering military service and PTSD to this heinous act doesn\u2019t help other service members who want to seek assistance for mental health issues.\u201d
Most people with PTSD, including combat veterans, are not violent, said Dr. Donovan Wong, medical director at Didi Hirsch Mental Services in Los Angeles.
\u201cAnother common misconception is that PTSD is only related to going to war or being in combat,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are several different types of trauma that could cause this condition including car accidents, an act of violence or sexual assault.\u201d
When it comes to mass shootings, people tend to look for one simple answer such as mental illness, Wong said.
\u201cThere are often many other complex issues at play including access to firearms,\u201d he said.
Wong said Didi Hirsch\u2019s Disaster Distress Help Line, 800-855-5990, is available for anyone who needs help coping with this tragedy.
\u2014\u2014\u2014 \u00a92018 The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Visit The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.) at www.ocregister.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/p>\n

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