Utahns provide help for veterans with mental illness

Utahns provide help for veterans with mental illness

(Courtesy of Catholic Community Services)


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SALT LAKE CITY — In a state with 170,000 veterans, there is a large need to help those struggling with mental health issues that may have resulted from their service.

With 22 veterans committing suicide each day across the country, the Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs (VMA) and other groups are working hard to change that number, Gary Harter, executive director of the VMA, said.

“It’s a loss to everybody when those things occur and unfortunately we hear it way too often,” Harter said regarding the suicide rate.

The VMA works to determine veterans’ needs and connect them with services that can help them, including mental health services.

Several additional organizations in Utah also recognize that need and are striving to make life better for veterans by providing resources for them.

Specialized therapy

One such person is Melanie Squire, a clinical social worker with a master's in social work, who opened two specialized counseling centers last year for those who are serving or have previously served in the military.

Squire opened the Military and Veteran Counseling Center in Salt Lake City (254 S. 600 East, Suite 110) and Layton (2621 Oak Hills Drive) after working with active-duty individuals in a psychiatric hospital and homeless veterans.

Squire said often, rather than seeking treatment from the Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans were going out into the general public and therapists were not qualified to treat their post traumatic stress disorder.

“While working with this population, I was continually seeing a need for them to be able to have specialized care,” Squire said. “War trauma is complex trauma and it requires additional training on the therapist's part, so I wanted to start an organization that could help meet that.”

Squire opened her center as an additional resource for veterans, rather than a competing facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs, she said.

The Military and Veteran Counseling Center specializes in patients who struggle with mental needs such as depression and anxiety, trauma, post traumatic stress disorder, addiction, grief and loss, sexual trauma, domestic violence and more.

The most rewarding part of the job for Squire is when she sees a service member come in who has held onto trauma for 20 or 30 years and doesn't think they will ever feel better, but through treatment, they finally let go.

“They almost are in shock because they have this feeling of peace that you can tell they haven’t felt for many years,” Squire said.

At the Military and Veteran Counseling Center, the therapists are trained in all of the specialized areas, and they offer several different evidence-based treatments that are more specific to each patient’s needs.

A man's best friend

No one form of therapy is going to work for everyone, and a family in Utah is providing a different kind of therapy in the form of a furry friend.

When Jake Nold’s brother, Zachary, went into the Army Reserves, his mother decided to give back by training labrador retrievers to be service dogs for military veterans.

Non-profit organization "Labs For Liberty" pairs service dogs with veterans. (Photo: Courtesy of Labs For Liberty)
Non-profit organization "Labs For Liberty" pairs service dogs with veterans. (Photo: Courtesy of Labs For Liberty)

So far, “Labs for Liberty,” a nonprofit organization, has gifted seven dogs, Jake Nold, director of philanthropy, said.

The first dog, Penny, was gifted at 6 months old to a veteran last July.

The veteran, who served in Jake’s brother’s reserve and has suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, was at first reluctant to accept Penny since he felt other people deserved the dog more than he, but when Nold’s mom insisted, he accepted.

It is uncommon to gift a service dog at just 6 months, Nold said, but they wanted to build companionship between the dog and the veteran by getting them together early.

“A lot of people ask us, ‘Is it hard to give a pup away?’ and it’s hard, but what makes it easier is a month or month and a half after we gave away Penny, Anthony emailed us and said, ‘I can’t tell you where I was in my life and I can’t tell you what Penny has meant to me. Somehow she just knows me,’” Nold said. “To us, that's a match made in heaven.”

In addition to gifting the service dogs, the Nolds fixed up the guest house on their 27-acre property in Morgan to use as a veterans retreat.

Christened “Liberty Outpost,” the home is available to any veteran or active service member who needs a vacation or needs somewhere to stay when they come to Utah to be paired with their service dog.

In an effort to reach more veterans, the Nolds are working with local organizations Sportsmen for Warriors, Miles of Hope, Operation Hero and Operation Climb On.

To apply for a service dog, visit the website.

A holistic approach

Veterans with substance abuse and mental health issues are given the chance to heal physically and emotionally and get back on their feet at a residential treatment service at St. Mary’s Center for Recovery through Catholic Community Services, according to Wendy Stilson, director of treatment services.

With a holistic focus, this service includes group therapy and life skill groups, individual therapy and case management, addiction therapy and dealing with trauma, Stilson said.

A 24-hour facility, the counseling is trauma-based, mainly focused on substance abuse, though she works with veterans struggling with other issues as well.

“I think they come back, especially those who have been in combat … and they don’t have the coping skills that they need after dealing with being in combat and being in the wars,” Stilson said.

The facility gets referrals from the Department of Veteran Affairs, and they work with the VA to help these clients with PTSD and trauma, Stilson said.


I think they come back, especially those who have been in combat … and they don't have the coping skills that they need after dealing with being in combat and being in the wars.

–Wendy Stilson, director of treatment services, St. Mary's Center for Recovery


“A lot of our work goes hand-in-hand with the VA to treat the client medically as well as the substance abuse treatment,” Stilson said.

With the VA funding, clients can stay at the center for up to two years, which lets them heal from the substance abuse, recover and graduate from the program.

Stilson said 98 percent of veterans come to them homeless, adding that veterans come back from deployment unemployed and don’t have the skills to work. They are also active in their addictions.

In order to graduate from the program, clients are to either work or enroll in school for at least 20 hours a week.

The program, Stilson said, “really helps them get back into society and gives them the time to do the things that they need to do.”

This facility is located at 745 E. 300 South in Salt Lake. To become qualified for this facility, clients can contact the VA for a referral.

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Megan Marsden Christensen

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