Veteran and Family Mental Health: PTSD, Suicide Risk, and Support Strategies

Course overview

Malibu CEU Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #18091, for 2 contact hours. Veterans and their families face unique mental health challenges rooted in military service, combat exposure, trauma, reintegration stress, and prolonged separation. As frontline healthcare professionals, nurses play a vital role in identifying, supporting, and advocating for veterans and their loved ones. This course provides a comprehensive understanding of the psychological conditions most commonly affecting this population including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, grief, anxiety, and suicide risk. Participants will learn how to determine veteran or military family status in clinical settings, apply screening tools to identify mental health concerns, recognize risk factors and protective factors, and implement evidence-based suicide prevention strategies. Nurses will also explore how to approach these issues with cultural sensitivity, trauma-informed communication, and respect for military values and lived experiences. The course integrates clinical case studies and real-world strategies to equip nurses with the tools to provide competent, compassionate, and equitable care for those who have served and those who support them. A dedicated final section addresses implicit bias in this topic, including how assumptions about military culture, masculinity, race, and stigma can shape access to care.