Therapy dogs aboard ship provide comfort and stress reduction in a pilot program run by the U.S. Navy.

The facility dog program at Walter Reed provides interactive care with innovative animal assisted interventions to help reduce stress and increase overall feelings of well-being.

Facility dogs have benefitted from the respect wounded warriors have for them and support mental health and wellness in patients across the Military Health System.

Facility dogs across the Military Health System are being recognized for their value with honorary commissions, enlistments, and service vests.

This week, the Defense Health Agency is celebrating facility dogs assigned to military hospitals across the nation for its “Dog Days of Summer” campaign July 24-28. DHA will spotlight stories of hard-working dogs dedicated to keeping service members, their families, and hospital staff healthy and happy.

Burnout can affect anyone in the military, but there are strategies to fight it.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is commonly associated with combat-related trauma, but service members may not know that PTSD can also be caused by experiences beyond the battlefield.

Ask the Doc on a service member who may have an eating disorder or disordered eating and may benefit from mental health and nutrition counseling.

Stigma can be a barrier to a service member seeking support for their mental health. Recognizing mental health as part of overall health and changing attitudes are keys to addressing it.

“Checking in on your mental health can be as easy as making an appointment with a mental health professional, such as a therapist or psychiatrist – and that can be done face to face or virtually,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Anna Fedotova, mental health flight commander, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico.

The Real Warriors Campaign expanding via partnership with the Defense Suicide Prevention Office.

“How are you?” It’s a question almost everyone answers every day. Like most, your usual response is probably, “Fine, thanks. How are you?” But if you really think about it, are you fine? Maybe you haven’t been yourself in a while. You’re feeling sad, stressed, lonely, or just not how you want to feel. You’d like to start feeling better but aren’t ...

The DHA Targeted Care Pilot deployed to 10 sites in April 2023. The pilot, lasting six months, aims to alleviate the strained mental health system by matching service members to the care they need—wherever they are on a spectrum of mental health issues. Following the pilot, DHA will review results for the purpose of further refinement, continuation, ...

Whether on the sport field or the battlefield, the Defense Health Agency is the global leader in research on the effects of concussion—known as mild traumatic brain injury—in the military. Its research has fueled the development of protocols to help providers assess and treat concussion from initial injury to acute and post-acute medical settings, ...

If you need help with your PTSD, the InTransition program is for you.