Yellow Ribbon program helps vets reintegrate.(ADULT PSYCHIATRY)

NEW YORK -- Giving returning service members the time and resources to transition back into civilian life is essential to prevent substance abuse and identify mental health issues, experts say.

For some veterans, they are literally in Iraq 1 day and in their living rooms the next, said Monica L. Martocci, clinical director of New Directions Inc., Los Angeles, a drug and alcohol treatment program serving homeless veterans.

Many service members are young men and women who have little life experience outside of the structured environments of school and the military. When they return from Iraq or Afghanistan, they face significant pressures to step into the role of spouse or parent, Ms. Martocci said. Some veterans who come home are unable to pay their bills because they don't know how to write a check. Others might return home with drug or alcohol problems.

"They are popped right back into family life or real life without knowing what to do there," Ms. Martocci said during a panel discussion on substance abuse and mental health issues among veterans and active duty military personnel at a meeting sponsored by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, New York.

Ideally, returning veterans should spend time learning about their benefits and getting a physical and mental health assessment, she said. The idea is to identify veterans with substance abuse issues or symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) before they are back with their families, Ms. Martocci said.

Military leaders have started some programs are back with aimed at creating a support system for returning veterans.

The Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program aims to help soldiers and their families prepare for deployment and get help adjusting to life when they return. Before deployment, soldiers and their families attend educational sessions about what to expect and what benefits will be available to them. During deployment, families learn about PTSD symptoms and the potential for marital stress.

This program, which is already underway in Montana, has helped soldiers reconnect with their families in a positive way, said Eric Newhouse, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of a book on PTSD. "We're finding that it really is allowing husbands to talk to their wives and families again about what they did and why," he said.

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