know the
number of the 18-22 veterans per day that were shown the door
by a VA doctor in bondage to a broken system.
A case of "Weaponized Diagnosis" might look like this: A veteran may check into
a PTSD clinic and not immediately respond to the limited treatments that are
available at that clinic. Rather than exert greater effort on behalf of the
veteran the staff may give a Weaponized diagnosis of Borderline Personality
Disorder and dismisses the patient from treatment. A trauma therapist might do
this in order to claim a higher delta of patient success and secure greater
funding only to continue to offer mediocre care.
In a November 25 2012 conversation with Harvard psychologist and author of When Johnny and Jane Come Marching Home: What all of us can do to help veterans, the following impression was shared .
"In my experience, many therapists use the Borderline diagnosis when they don't feel comfortable with or don't want to treat a client. It is not just what you might call generally inept therapists who do this. The severe label is in the DSM, and I have known therapists who were not aware that what was happening was that they assigned that label because of their own difficulty or dislike of dealing with a particular patient."
A therapist that "Just does not want to treat a veteran" is troubling. Equally troubling is that the now victimized veteran did not have that same choice in service. That veteran served every American in every walk of life. That veteran served everyone whether they liked their politics, their religion, or what kind of car they drove. That veteran never had a choice of whether to witness bloodshed, enemy fire, or military sexual trauma. That veteran suited up, showed up, and did their job. The person that delivers care to veterans has "Choices." Those "Choices may contribute to 18 to 22 suicides per day.
After a Borderline Personality Disorder diagnosis is a matter of record a veteran has no choice regarding their therapy. If they get therapy at all they get an overbooked therapist or the most junior therapist in the house. PTSD, poly-trauma, military sexual trauma, explosions, major fuel disasters, hostage situations, live sea battles with Somali Pirates, collateral damage explosions that cause nightmares for life should not be cavalierly dismissed from a trauma clinic after a veteran served without reservations.
A veteran's PTSD
might have come from having saved lives during hurricane Katrina but with one
swift stroke of a diagnostic pen that veteran might be forever branded
"Untreatable." Veterans that served without reservation may be relegated to
homelessness because Borderline Personality Disorder looks just like PTSD.
Any VA or Military Doctor that disliked the color, gender, sexual orientation,
weight, religion, or politics of that veteran can ruin their lives with
Weaponized diagnosis. Weaponized diagnoses can cost veterans custody of their
children, jobs, security clearances, and benefits.
In an April 3, 2012 article for the Salem Times Dr. Phil Leveque made this
comment about the numbers of "Psychotic" or "Borderline psychotic" diagnoses
that were used to discharge infantry personnel.
"According to the VA, the Navy, since 2002, has discharged 7735 veterans with Personality Disorder (PD) instead of PTSD. How they recruited so many sociopaths is impossible to believe. For the Air Force, in 2006 they committed vicious slander with PD discharges to 1114 of 29,000 service members a rate of 3.7%. How did they recruit so many sociopaths??" (Leveque 2012)
Dr Leveque
appears to have been speaking on the matter of "Weaponized Diagnosis" before
the term was coined.
In February of 2012, Dr. Leveque said this in an article on the problem of Personality Disorder diagnoses:
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