PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Dr. Ariane Ling, Clinical Psychologist and Associate Director of Military Family Center at NYU Langone Health
2:11:03
ยท
3 min
Dr. Ariane Ling testified in support of Intro 1171, which proposes research on PTSD treatments for veterans. She highlighted the work of the Military Family Center at NYU Langone Health in providing mental health services to veterans and their families.
- The center has served over 4,000 veterans and family members since its inception
- They offer evidence-based treatments for PTSD, anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders
- Dr. Ling emphasized the importance of research and innovation in PTSD treatments, including exploring new therapies like RTM therapy
Ariane Ling
2:11:03
Hi, good afternoon everyone.
2:11:04
Chair Holden, members of the Committee on Veterans.
2:11:07
Can you hear and see me okay?
Robert F. Holden
2:11:08
Yep.
2:11:09
We can hear you loud
Sonya Russell
2:11:09
and Great.
Ariane Ling
2:11:11
Thank you.
2:11:12
So my name is Doctor.
2:11:13
Arianne Ling.
2:11:14
I'm a clinical psychologist and the associate director of the Military Family Center at NYU Langone Health.
2:11:20
I'm here to testify today on behalf of the military family center, and to support intro, number eleven seventy one.
2:11:28
Our center was established just over eleven years ago to fill a well documented gap in services available to veterans and their families.
2:11:36
The MFC provides free mental health treatment to veterans and their families who are experiencing the long term effects of all phases of military service, and these services include evaluation and treatment of mental health disorders, co occurring substance use, and the effects of traumatic brain injuries.
2:11:53
And since its inception, our center has served over 4,000 veterans and their family members.
2:11:58
We've developed strong partnerships with the VA and the Department of Veterans Services and many other organizations to reach veterans who are ineligible for care elsewhere or may be disconnected from mental health services.
2:12:10
The sheer number of individuals that our clinic has, been able to serve demonstrates the necessity for public and private partnerships and to meet the needs of the veterans and families in our community.
2:12:23
And it is central to the mission of our clinic to decrease barriers to high quality evidence based care for our nation's military families, and we offer gold standard treatments and therapies for post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders.
2:12:38
And these treatments include prolonged exposure therapy, cognitive processing therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy.
2:12:46
And we also tailor treatment to, each veteran's unique needs and pride ourselves on staying up to date with new and emerging treatments to give our population the very best care available.
2:12:57
And this includes most recently the addition of written exposure therapy.
2:13:01
It's a short term, highly accessible exposure based treatment for trauma and stressor related disorders.
2:13:07
So Intro November proposed by Chair Holden is critical legislation that supports research and innovation on PTSD treatment and other psychological disorders.
2:13:18
We believe this is key in advancing our understanding and improving care for veterans.
2:13:23
And while I'm not specifically familiar with reconsolidation of traumatic memory therapy and can't speak to its effectiveness or recommend it at this time, it can and want to advocate for ongoing research and development of PTSD treatments.
2:13:38
If enacted, this legislation would provide essential insight to whether RTM therapy could be effective, addition to our existing repertoire of PTSD treatments as PTSD remains a significant public health challenge for our veteran community, and any opportunity to explore new evidence based, interventions should be met with consideration.
2:13:59
So our center is equipped to working together with the community to address our ever growing needs for our veterans and their families.
2:14:06
And we hope that
Michael Moreno
2:14:07
the council
Ariane Ling
2:14:08
will further invest in this research.
2:14:11
So thank you so much.