Mental Health Screening for Soldiers

Soldiers returning from combat often bring with them mental health issues, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. In an effort to diagnose and treat more soldiers, the Department of Defense instituted a new mental health screening that's identifying a lot more soldiers in need of help.

Researchers at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research studied the Army's mental health screening programs. Soldiers are screened upon return from combat, and a newer program also screens them about six months after they've been home.

The researchers found the second screen picked up significantly more mental health issues, such as an almost 17 percentage point increase in people who had concerns about interpersonal conflict in their lives. And researchers found the second screening, and the mental health training that goes with it, may be having an additional impact, because there is an increase in the number of soldiers entering the mental health system during the next 30 days following the screening.

Researchers say they are hopeful that the screening is helping to lessen the stigma soldiers may feel about mental health care