On Eve of Sept. 11, Expert to Discuss Effects of Combat Stress

Members of America’s armed forces continue to face the stress of combat along with the common negative after effects of deployment including Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and substance abuse. A recent military report found an escalating suicide rate among active duty service personnel this year with one suicide occurring roughly every day. Furthermore, approximately a quarter of a million veterans of the Iraqi and Afghanistan conflicts experience significant mental health illnesses such as PTSD, depression, and chemical dependency upon their return to the US.

Michael W. Brand, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and a Major in the United States Army Reserves, will discuss the stressors associated with combat, potential long-term psychological effects, and various treatment strategies designed to assist affected service men and women who have been involved in the Iraqi and Afghanistan conflicts. The event will take place on Sept. 10 at 7:30 pm in the Board of Visitors Lounge on the campus of Emory & Henry College.

Dr. Brand has served two tours of duty in Iraq, most recently as the Commander of the 1908th Medical Detachment. His distinguished service has earned him the Bronze Star and Legion of Merit decoration for meritorious service in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Dr. Brand’s current teaching responsibilities include the supervision of medical students’ psychiatry rotations and his clinical responsibilities include providing treatment services to impaired healthcare professionals and individuals experiencing Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and substance abuse.

His publications include Family Communication across The Military Deployment Experience: Child and Spouse Report of Communication Frequency and Quality, and Associated Emotions, Behaviors, and Reactions in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Loss and Trauma and Children of Deployed National Guard Soldiers: Perceptions of Parental Deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom in Psychiatric Annals (2009).