Citizen Soldier co-sponsors a National Conference on PTSD

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Marine Vet Paul Woodhouse is president of the John Jay College Veterans Club.
Audience divides into "breakout groups" to discuss presentations.
Afternoon "breakout groups" convene, with over 100 in attendance.
Left: A member of Black Vets for Social Justice, Brooklyn NY. Right: Iraq vet John Waltz is a candidate for Congress, from Louisville, KY.
Left: Vet panelists confer: John Waltz, Navy Commander Mark Russell (Ret), and former Marine Captain Anu Bhagwati, head, Servicewoman's Defense Network.
Right: Mark Russell and psychologist explains deficiencies in military's treatment of mentally-stressed soldiers.

Over one hundred mental health therapists, veterans, and family members gathered at the University Settlement on New York's Lower East Side on Saturday, April 3 to discuss "The War Comes Home: Soldiers and Veterans in Crisis."

The morning's program featured several lraq/Afghan veterans and veteran advocates who described in powerful language the difficulties they'd experienced since returning home in obtaining effective treatment for their combat-induced mental illness. Following these presentations, audience members formed themselves into "break out groups" to discuss what they had learned and how they might help to improve conditions for veterans.

The afternoon session featured several nationally recognized mental health experts who described the overall mental health problems facing vets and made suggestions as to how best to facilitate their readjustment to civilian life. Again, the audience members gathered in break-out groups which presented written summaries of suggestions for further moblization and cooperation around this issue.