The Veteran Supported Education Service Treatment Manual: VetSEd

health coach or the like. Although you are not trained to provide PTSD treatment,
remaining sensitive to trauma symptoms will allow you to make informed decisions on
whether or not Veterans need to be referred to specialized services to stabilize PTSD
symptoms or to develop the coping skills necessary for educational success.
When to Refer a Veteran for Trauma-Related Treatment
Peer VetSEd providers should know when to refer a Veteran on their caseload for
specialized PTSD or trauma-related assessment or treatment. Key examples of such
scenarios are as follows.
The Veteran has emotional or behavioral problems that are consistent with PTSD
(e.g., intense anger, hyper vigilance, nightmares).
You suspect PTSD and has been no formal diagnostic assessment.
The Veteran requests additional PTSD treatment.
The Veteran struggles with alcohol or substance misuse and has a major trauma
history.
School personnel, family members and/or members of the supported education
team notice that the Veteran is dissociating (e.g., spacing out, blank stare) in or
outside the classroom.
In any of these cases, we suggest that you work closely with your Clinical Supervisor to
make an appropriate referral.
ii.
Knowing your Population: Understanding and Serving Veterans with
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
It is estimated that 19.5% of the nearly 1.7 million U.S. troops that have deployed to
Afghanistan and Iraq since October 2001 have experienced a TBI during deployment
(Tanielian, 2008). Traumatic brain injury occurs when an external force leads to a
structural injury and/or physiological disruption of brain function.
When this traumatic force occurs, the Veteran has likely experienced traumatic brain
injury if s/he has (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2010):
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lost or decreased consciousness
loss of memory preceding or immediately after the event
confusion, slowed thinking or some other change in mental state during the injury
changes in neurological functioning (e.g., change in vision, balance, speech
problems, etc.) that may or may not subside