UT Health San Antonio (Texas) launched a 12-week pilot program to provide in military families with remote counseling.
The home-based telehealth program will connect 50 military caregivers with licensed therapists via computer or smartphone video technology. The caregivers — many of whom support injured or ill military members — will receive various types of counseling, such as cognitive behavioral therapy.
The program is part of a research study led by Dawn Velligan, PhD, a professor of psychiatry in the university's Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine. The research team will evaluate each of the 50 caregivers with psychological scales at various points throughout the 12-week study.
"While a sample of 50 military caregivers will participate in this pilot program, the goal is to provide an evidence-based model of telehealth that can be expanded and taken nationwide to care for all our nation's military caregivers," Dr. Velligan said.