Section 36E: Military service-related behavioral health conditions; development of continuing education program by University of Massachusetts medical school
Section 36E. (a) The University of Massachusetts medical school in Worcester shall develop a continuing education program for licensed mental health professionals on military service-related behavioral health conditions.
(b) The training and curriculum for the program shall include, but not be limited to: (i) military culture and its influence on the behavioral health of service members and veterans; (ii) symptoms of deployment-related and non-deployment-related behavioral health conditions, including, but not limited to, depression, suicide, insomnia, substance use and post-traumatic stress disorder; (iii) deployment cycle stressors for students who are service members and veterans; (iv) deployment cycle stressors that impact the behavioral health of service members and veterans; (v) outreach strategies for available administrative, non-clinical and clinical services; and (vi) available resources and methods of referral for the treatment of deployment-related behavioral health conditions, including peer support.
(c) In developing the curriculum for the program, the University of Massachusetts medical school shall consult with relevant stakeholders, including, but not limited to: (i) medical professional associations; (ii) peers and other service members and veterans who have lived experience of seeking or receiving behavioral health services or treatment; and (iii) behavioral health professionals with expertise in providing culturally-competent care.