Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury

The Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) organization that provides guidance across DoD programs related to psychological health (PH) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) issues. The organization’s mission statement is: “DCoE assesses, validates, oversees and facilitates prevention, resilience, identification, treatment, outreach, rehabilitation, and reintegration programs for PH and TBI to ensure the Department of Defense meets the needs of the USA's military communities, warriors and families.”

History

Eight different blue ribbon panels and commissions were established in 2007 to examine PTSD, TBI and other combat-related health issues. Policy makers, federal agency representatives, war veterans, academics, health care experts and medical scientists from a number of disciplines convened to address the care of warriors and their families. DCoE was created in response to several of 300-plus key recommendations that were generated, as well as recommendations from the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act. Deputy Secretary of Defense, Gordon England, announced the opening of DCoE in November 2007.

Overview

DCoE focuses on education and training; clinical care; prevention; research; and service member, family and community outreach. In collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs, the organization supports the Department of Defense’s commitment of caring for service members from the time they enter service and throughout the completion of their service. DCoE also seeks to mitigate the stigma that still deters some from reaching out for help for problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder and TBI.

The organization has a leadership role in collaborating with a national network of external entities^[1] including non-profit organizations,^[2] other DoD agencies, academia, Congress,^[3] military services and other federal agencies.^[4] Public health service and civil service workers, including personnel from the Department of Veterans Affairs and individuals from all the military services as well as contract personnel comprise the staff of DCoE.

DCoE’s goals include providing the necessary resources to facilitate the care of service members who experience TBI or PH concerns and ensuring that appropriate standards of care exist and are maintained across the Department of Defense. DCoE seeks to create, identify and share best practices, conducting necessary pilot or demonstration projects to better inform quality standards when best practices or evidence based recommendations are not readily available. Other DCoE goals include ensuring that program standards are executed and quality is consistent and creating a system in which individuals across the United States expect and receive the same level and quality of service regardless of their service branch, component, rank or geographic location.

DCoE comprises eight directorates and six component centers responsible for TBI/PH issues. These DCoE entities execute programs, provide clinical care, conduct research, identify and share best practices and provide strategic planning for PH and TBI across the DoD.

References

1. ^ NIH, DOD, and VA Host Two Day Conference on Trauma Spectrum Disorders: The Role of Gender, Race & Other Socioeconomic Factors, National Institute of Health Press Release, September 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
2. ^ Talk, Listen, Connect: Deployments, Homecomings, Changes, Sesame Street Workshop Web site. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
3. ^ Combat vets’ needs seen as escalating, San Antonio Express-News, January 15, 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2009.
4. ^ Statement for the Record by the Honorable Gordon England Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Honorable Gordon Mansfield Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs before the Senate Committee on Armed Services, February 13, 2008. Retrieved February 23, 2009.

External links

• DCoE Web Site
• DCoE Blog
• DCoE Telehealth and Technologies Post Deployment Resources Site
• Tragic Heroes, from The Atlantic
• Pentagon hopes stories help troops with PTSD, from Stars and Stripes
• New DoD center offers help for PTSD, from Army Times
• Summit addresses military suicides, from San Antonio Express-News
• Report sees long-term problems for troops who suffer traumatic brain injuries, from Los Angeles Times
• Military marches toward mental health, from Washington Times
• In Ancient Dramas, Vital Words for Today’s Warriors, from NPR
• New Army General Leads PTSD, TBI Initiatives, from Psychiatric News
• Real Warriors
• National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE)
• Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC)
• General Sutton/“This Emotional Life”
• DCoE Annual Report (2008 - 2009)
• DCoE on Facebook
• DCoE on Twitter
• Military Gets Brain Game Funding