2 December 2015                                                                                           

New eLearning programs to improve veterans’ health care

A new posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) eLearning program for mental health providers will help improve treatment for former Australian Defence Force (ADF) members.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC, Stuart Robert, said the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) developed the PTSD Psychological Interventions Program in response to research that found up to a third of providers did not practise evidence-based treatment for PTSD.

“This online training program has been developed in line with the Australian Guidelines for the Treatment of Acute Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (2013) with the intention of improving knowledge and practice for mental health providers to help veterans recover,” Mr Robert said.

The PTSD Psychological Interventions Program was developed in collaboration with Flinders University’s Human Behaviour and Health Research Unit. Mental health providers who complete the program may claim continuous professional development hours for doing so.

Mr Robert said DVA had also reviewed and updated its Understanding the Military Experience training program, first released in March 2013.

“This program improves treatment for veterans by helping clinicians better understand military service and how it can affect the mental health of serving and ex-serving personnel,” Mr Robert said.

“It highlights Australia's recent operational tempo, common veteran mental health conditions in ex-serving personnel, the changing veteran demographic, and DVA arrangements and expectations.

“The Government committed to improving the capabilities of health providers to support veteran mental health in our recently released Mental and Social Health Action Plan. This eLearning program delivers on our commitment.
 

“We have improved and expanded online resources and apps for serving and ex-serving ADF members to help them better manage their mental health and wellbeing.”

Both eLearning programs, which are free-of-charge, are available through DVA’s online learning management system, DVAtrain. For information about registering for DVAtrain, go to http://www.dva.gov.au/providers/online-training-health-providers.
 

Resources for mental health providers and for serving and ex-serving ADF personnel are available at http://at-ease.dva.gov.au/.

Media enquiries:        
 

Richard Briedis (Minister Robert) 0477 391 174
 

Department of Veterans’ Affairs Media: 02 6289 6203