Noteboom The Law Firm

Female Veterans Blame Gender for Untreated PTSD

March 17, 2010 - The 2 top disability claims being made by female veterans who primarily served in Iraq and Afghanistan are for PTSD and depression. Despite the abundance of these claims, female veterans are finding it very hard to prove one critical component to receiving PTSD treatment: that they had seen combat.  

Currently, over 40% of female veterans registered for Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) health care. Despite being diagnosed with PTSD and having their claim approved, female veterans are still finding it difficult to find help. The VA established a series of steps it forces veterans to take in order to get VA mental health care.

Spokespeople for the Oklahoma City VA have only 1 of their 14 staff psychiatrists devoted solely to PTSD issues focusing on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. One female veteran complained she was denied access to a group therapy program spotlighting combat veterans as well as other therapy options based on her gender. The director of the Oklahoma VA Medical Center says established guidelines prevent female veterans from being denied access to such support groups based simply on being a woman.  

Being able to establish they had seen combat is something female veterans often struggle with. There is no reason that PTSD and other mental health treatments should be harder for female veterans to obtain than male veterans and hopefully this lack of treatment options will be solved sooner rather than later. Veterans, male or female, deserve the best health care this country can provide.