Unseen War Causalties.. HUGE SPIKE in children of soldiers having mental breakdowns

As much as I have written about war and peace over the years, I have never heard of this one... The story speaks for itself... wonder if it also has to do with the huge percentage of soldiers families who are so poor they are on food stamps?




WASHINGTON - Children of U.S. military troops sought outpatient mental health care 2 million times last year - double the number at the start of the Iraq war.
There was also an alarming spike in the number of military kids actually hospitalized for mental health reasons.
Internal Pentagon documents show the increases, which come as the services struggle with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a shortage of therapists.
From 2007 to 2008, some 20% more children of active-duty troops were hospitalized for mental health services, the documents show. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, inpatient visits among military children have increased 50%.
The overall number of children and spouses of active-duty personnel and National Guard and reserves troops seeking mental health care has been steadily increasing during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Last year's increase in child hospitalizations coincided with the "surge" of tens of thousands of additional U.S. troops into Iraq to stabilize the country.
However, reasons for the treatment increases are not clear from the documents. Besides the impact of service members' repeated tours in overseas war zones - and the severe economic recession that has affected all American families - the military has been encouraging troops' family members to seek mental health help when needed.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/07/08/2009-07-08_soldiers_kids_flood_mental_health_care.html#ixzz0KfubYpNo&D