Vocational Services for Veterans with Monnie Rebecca Waltz, BS, MRC, VE, CRC, Christopher Briggman, MRC, CRC, CVE, LCMHC, LPC, and Keith Hosey

Inside Rehabilitation Counseling

An increasing amount of research is exploring the connection between work and wellness. This includes mental wellness and physical health, both of which can be positively impacted by having employment, particularly for those navigating a disability. Simply put, work is more than just a means to earn a living or spend a significant portion of your week.

For veterans who return to work after service, it can be tricky in general. When you combine the return to civilian life with a disability, it’s important to have the right people in your corner helping you to navigate that transition. On this episode, I had a conversation with three individuals who have meaningful insight into serving veterans. You’ll hear from:

Monnie Rebecca Waltz, BS, MRC, VE, CRC - Program Manager in Vocational Rehabilitation at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center

Christopher Briggman, MRC, CRC, CVE, LCMHC, LPC - a CRC and Vocational Expert who previously worked for the VA, now runs two practices, Balance Consulting & Counseling, and Adjusted Ability Vocational Group

Keith Hosey - Supervisory Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist at the Robley Rex VA Medical Center.

References to Research Mention in Today's Episdode:

Large meta-analyses of the available research has provided support for the conclusions that (1) unemployment leads to decline in mental and physical health and increased risk of suicide, and (2) re-employment leads to significant improvements in these states (McKee-Ryan et al., 2005; Paul & Moser, 2009).

Findings from (Kukla 2012) demonstrate Working clients had fewer days of hospitalization, and had greater reduction in negative symptoms than non-working clients.

(Burns 2014) found Those who worked had better global functioning, fewer symptoms, less social disability; greater job tenure was associated with better functioning.

(Elbogen 2020) found that Veterans lacking money to cover basic needs (food, clothes, shelter, transportation, medical care) had triple the risk of endorsing suicidal ideation compared to Veterans with money to cover basic needs (22% versus 7%).

Other research examining Veterans and homelessness shows that peak risk of suicide occurs just prior to eviction (Culhane et al., 2019).

In research findings by (Abraham 2022), employment was associated with 45.9% lower suicide risk in the year following discharge from VR.