Bill Blaikie

Author's posts

Defence boss writes to troops urging open attitude

Defence boss writes to troops urging open attitude, writes Danya Levy.  ——————– There are calls for more research and funding for post-traumatic stress disorder amid concerns the Christchurch earthquake and deployment of troops into combat zones could cause the number of sufferers to soar.  It comes as the Defence Force releases figures showing an explosion …

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Promise of ongoing help to comrades of the fallen

By Audrey Young Email Audrey 5:30 AM Thursday Oct 4, 2012 Minister of Defence makes a secret visit to Afghanistan with NZ’s military chief Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman. Photo / Steven McNicholl Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman says some comrades of the New Zealand troops killed in Afghanistan will need ongoing support when they get back …

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Listern to this very powerful and true song by Marine and Iraq veteran Stephen Cochran

Stephen cochran music video

Urge to seek help for war and quake stress

Eighty-seven troops have been released from the Defence Force on mental health grounds in the past five years and a further 67 needed help after assisting in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake, new figures show. Defence Force chief Lieutenant General Rhys Jones has written to soldiers urging them to seek help for mental illnesses …

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Macho-man approach ‘hinders’ bid to help

By DANYA LEVY Bill Blaikie: Fighting back. A TOP-RANKING former soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder says New Zealand’s ‘‘macho man’’ attitude discourages people from seeking help. Lieutenant Colonel Bill Blaikie was the deputy director of intelligence for the combined forces in Afghanistan and was made a member of the Order of Merit in 2005. However, after …

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Wounds of war – when the human fallout goes beyond the battlefield

And then there are the other, less immediately obvious wounds. The Australian  Defence Force says four Afghanistan veterans – one had also seen duty in Iraq –  have committed suicide.  All  were still in military service when they took  their lives. Accurate records are not kept of suicides among veterans once they  leave.  Thousands more will …

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Australian Defence Force Mental Health Reform Program

The highest rated barrier to seeking help was concern that it would reduce deployability (36.9%). The most frequently perceived stigma for ADF members was that people would treat them differently if they sought care (27.6%), and that seeking care would harm their career (26.9%). Almost one in five personnel (17.9%) reported that they had sought help for a …

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Affects of PTSD on Australian soldiers unknown

Young Australian Soldiers fighting on the front line are returning home very different people and their families can hardly recognise them? An increasing number of men and women serving in Australian forces are being diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) after their deployment. More…

Debriefing, Social Support and PTSD in the New Zealand Police

  Abstract Organisations whose workers risk traumatic exposure, are increasingly interested in preventing sequelae such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A common intervention is the provision of psychological debriefing following trauma. In accordance with recent criticisms of this approach, Harvey (1996) has proposed a multidimensional model of trauma recovery. The present study tested some of …

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