Nick Diamantides
Staff Writer
Spending a few years in the military can make a person accustomed to a highly structured lifestyle in which others make decisions, while food, clothing and shelter are provided by the organization. Stepping out of that situation and back into the far less disciplined life of a civilian is a stressful undertaking for many veterans, and it can sometimes cause them to make foolish choices.
A program called Outside the Wire is aimed at helping veterans struggling with the transition to civilian life. The program is offered by the U.S Veterans Initiative (U.S. Vets).
“It is an outreach and early-intervention program that offers free and confidential mental-health services to veterans, their family members and their significant others in the community,” said Dr. Todd Adamson, coordinator for the Outside the Wire program. “It was initially geared at veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, but we will not turn down any other veterans.”
Adamson, who is a clinical psychologist, explained that U.S. Vets has partnered with four local community colleges (Santa Monica Community College, Long Beach City College, Los Angeles City College, and West Los Angeles City College) to provide the counseling at the respective campus veterans resource centers. The organization will soon offer the program to Pasadena City College as well. “The counseling is mostly one-on-one, but group therapy sessions are also available,” Adamson said. He added that Outside the Wire also offers training to college staff and faculty on military life and transitional issues specific to veterans.
“One of the reasons we are at the city colleges is that we discovered that many of the Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are using the post 9-11 G.I. Bill to go to school while they are transitioning back into civilian life,” Adamson said. “The money they receive through the bill helps pay their rent and other expenses while they are working toward their goals, and we are there to help them achieve their goals.”
Adamson said that most of the vets that come to Outside the Wire are seeking emotional health. “Many people have a misconception that all vets are the same and they all have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or similar problems, but that is not the case,” he said. “Every vet is different, and most of them do not have PTSD.”
Adamson explained that stress is a common problem among veterans, and it can be related to painful experiences in the military or it can be due to the difficulty of readjusting to civilian life. “But many of the veterans we see had preexisting issues, sometimes with family, or with drugs and alcohol even before enlisting,” Adamson said. “In those cases, the military experience may have exacerbated their problems.”
He added that the inability to control anger and problems communicating with the people closest to them are also common among veterans. “Often a family member or significant other will tell them to get counseling, and then they come to us,” Adamson said.
After a veteran signs up for the Outside the Wire program, the first thing Adamson or the other counselors try to do is develop rapport and trust. “A vet will not open up and be honest unless he trusts us,” Adamson said. “Once I have established trust with the individual, I try to identify their goals. I ask them, ‘What would you like to get from these sessions?'”
He said some vets only need psychological education. “I tell them, this is what PTSD is. This is what traumatic brain injury is,” he explained. “I describe some of the symptoms they may experience, and I tell them what they can do to help themselves.”
He noted that some vets only need two or three counseling sessions while others need a year of meeting with a counselor. Adamson also meets with couples having relational issues.
Outside the Wire is available to males and females, but because most vets are males, most in the program are also males. The local program has two psychologists: Adamson and Dr. Dan Chenoweth. It also has four psychology doctoral students— practicum students— from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
“I probably see four to nine vets a week,” Adamson said. “The practicum students each see about four per week.” Chenoweth does most of the administrative work and compiles data so he is not counseling vets at this time.
According to Adamson, the program works very well. “After the counseling, most of the vets are able to function at a level they were not able to function at before,” he said. “ We also coordinate with other organizations to find the best help for the vets. If we can’t help them, we will find the appropriate program for them offered by another organization or agency.”
Adamson noted that, as more and more men and women who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are discharged, the number of veterans having problems transitioning back into civilian life is going to increase. “We want to offer these services to the vets early, as soon as possible after their military duty is over,” he said. “We believe that early intervention will help them avoid future problems like substance abuse, violence, divorce and financial crises.”
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