The Road Home Program: The National Center of Excellence for Veterans and their Families at Rush is dedicated to providing the best possible mental health services to those who served in the U.S. armed forces and their loved ones. Research suggests that one in every five service members is affected by military-related mental health problems, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, traumatic brain injury and depression, among others. The stress of service members’ deployments and mental health symptoms can also have a negative impact on family members. As such, there is a great need to expand our knowledge of the presentation and treatment of mental health problems commonly experienced by veterans and their family members.
Research at the Road Home Program, or RHP, primarily focuses on trauma-related distress, including PTSD. The goal of our research is to improve our understanding of and optimize the treatment of trauma-related disorders to reduce the mental health burden carried by veterans and their families. We are also exploring avenues for the prevention of trauma-related distress in military families. We aim to increase awareness of these important issues by sharing our knowledge with clinical and research communities world-wide.
Our work
RHP conducts a large number of clinically focused research projects that aim to understand the causes of trauma-related mental health problems and improve existing treatments for traumatic stress. RHP actively evaluates outcomes related to the ongoing clinical care of its veterans and their families to ensure a first-class treatment experience. RHP is also conducting leading-edge research on a variety of topics related to military mental health, including biomarkers related to PTSD, military sexual trauma, moral injury and novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of trauma-related distress, such as light therapy.
As a leader in trauma and military research, RHP collaborates with a number of local and national organizations that are engaged in research aimed at reducing the mental health burden that our veterans and their family members have to carry. This includes a collaboration with the Wounded Warrior Project and four national academic centers that have come together to form the Warrior Care Network.
Technology
RHP uses a variety of state-of-the-art technologies to enhance the treatment of trauma. These technologies include virtual reality therapy, technology-based assessment tools and telehealth. RHP is eager to adopt new technologies that have been shown to be effective for the treatment of trauma- and military-related mental health problems.
Funding
RHP is funded by a large number of philanthropic and foundation grants, which enable us to provide the best possible care to our veterans and their families. Some of our major granting agencies include the Wounded Warrior Project, McCormick Foundation, Chicago Bears, The Crown Family Foundation, Bank of America and The Michael Reese Health Trust. Our investigators have also received research grants from several divisions of the National Institute of Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
For more information see: roadhomeprogram.org