United States Army Col. Jeffrey Yarvis drew from decades of experience in military social work to describe the challenges faced by returning veterans during an information-packed and deeply personnel presentation at UCF.
Yarvis is a decorated officer, a published scholar with a doctorate and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He currently serves as chief of the Department of Social Work at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center in Fort Hood, Texas.
Approximately 75 military veterans, students, and social work alumni and practitioners gathered to hear him speak at the聽“Subtleties of Trauma Spectrum Disorders鈥� workshop offered Nov. 6 by the and College of Health and Public Affairs Alumni Chapter.
Yarvis shared data and statistics聽on U.S. veteran populations, and he showed video clips to illustrate changes in attitudes toward soldiers who are traumatized or grieving. He spoke extensively about the聽impact of聽war-related stress聽on veterans and their families.
鈥淎bout 80 percent of returning veterans will exhibit some changes in behavior,鈥� Yarvis said. 鈥淭hose who are deployed more than once have a greater chance of a clinical diagnosis.鈥�
Some returning veterans experience symptoms commonly associated with traumatic stress, such as fear, anxiety, grief, depression and sleep disturbance. A smaller number exhibit Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which may include physical symptoms and always includes these symptoms: 1) re-experiencing trauma, such as nightmares and flashbacks; 2) avoidance, such as feelings of numbness and detachment; and 3) arousal, such as anger and hypervigilance.
鈥淭hese are very complex issues for mental health care givers to negotiate,鈥� Yarvis said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to quantitate these symptoms, and they manifest themselves differently in different people.鈥�
Yarvis described his own behavioral changes when he returned home from deployment. He exhibited risky and aberrant behavior,聽became easily frustrated, and turned to alcohol to deal with his insomnia. Several participants said they found his candidness quite helpful.
鈥淗e spoke your language,鈥� said UCF student Lyndon Ortiz, a senior in social work and U.S. Marines veteran who served in Iraq until he was injured.
Yarvis is encouraged to see military social work coming into its own as a profession. 鈥淚 love that UCF has a military program,鈥� he said, referring to UCF鈥檚 program, which prepares master鈥檚 degree-level social workers to聽help veterans and their families.
Social work senior Kristopher Vite plans to enroll in the program while pursuing his master鈥檚 degree in social work at UCF. He is a U.S. Army veteran, and like Ortiz he served in Iraq until he was injured. Both Vite and Ortiz aim to become Licensed Clinical Social Workers so they can work with veterans like themselves.
U.S. Air Force veteran and UCF alumnus Charlie Antoni (B.S.W., ’95) is already on the front lines, working as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and palliative care coordinator for the Orlando VA Medical Center. He is educating local physicians and nurses, and he聽is developing networks of community support that he聽will聽help place聽at the new VA hospital in Lake Nona.
Also on the front lines is U.S. Army veteran Richard Whitten, who works as a peer-support specialist at the Daytona Beach Vet Center. 鈥淎 lot of the homeless vets I meet have PTSD symptoms, but it鈥檚 hard to convince them to come in for help,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e learned a lot today that I can take back with me.鈥�
Yarvis concluded his nearly three-hour presentation by commending the聽participants. 鈥淲hat you are doing is incredibly important,” he said.聽鈥淵ou are helping veterans grieve and return聽to their lives.鈥�