Director of Outreach Kathy Broniarczyk discussed the benefits of Star Behavioral Health Providers (SBHP) today, invited by a local media organization as part of its recognition of Veterans Day.
Broniarczyk explained the need for behavioral health specialists to receive specialized training about military culture, PTSD, traumatic brain injury and other military-specific issues. Deployment, reintegration and combat injuries common today can add to the mental and emotional strain, and a collaboration between MFRI, the Indiana National Guard (INNG), the National Guard Bureau’s Psychological Health Program, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) and the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) produced SBHP in 2011. This program pairs training with an online referral service so that veterans, military members and their families can locate trained civilian behavioral health professionals who better understand challenges associated with military service. SBHP began in Indiana but has quickly spread to Michigan and Georgia.