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Give an Hour Calls on Mental Health Professionals to Volunteer Counseling to Returning Troops as Part of President-elect Obama's National Day of Service

Posted on: Thursday, 15 January 2009, 08:30 CST

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Give an Hour encourages licensed mental health professionals to participate in President-elect Obama's National Day of Service on MLK Day, January 19, 2009, by joining the Give an Hour network.

Give an Hour is a nonprofit organization that has created a national network of licensed mental health providers who have agreed to give one hour of their time each week to provide free counseling and other mental health services to military members, veterans, and their families who are experiencing the psychological effects of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Currently, there are more than 3,300 providers nationwide, triple the number of providers six months ago.

"President-elect Obama's call-to-service echoes Give an Hour's mission. The very idea behind our organization is to provide a means for volunteers to do what they know how to do. With approximately 400,000 licensed mental health professionals in the United States, we know there is a great opportunity to make a tremendous impact on the lives of so many of our returning troops and their families--just by donating one hour a week," says Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen Romberg, founder and president of Give an Hour.

Give an Hour providers offer assistance to individuals, couples, children, and families. In addition to direct counseling, volunteers give presentations, provide consultation, teach skills, offer support and, perhaps most important, demystify mental health care for those who serve as well as for those who seek to support our troops. Give an Hour has excellent relationships with the VA, the DoD, and several Veterans Service Organizations. In addition, Give an Hour has the support of the major mental health associations in the United States, including the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and the Anxiety Disorders Association of America.

Mental health professionals interested in joining Give an Hour can complete an easy on-line form at www.giveanhour.org.

Give an Hour (www.giveanhour.org) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3), founded in September 2005 by Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen Romberg, a psychologist in the Washington, D.C., area. The organization's mission is to develop national networks of volunteers capable of responding to both acute and chronic conditions that arise within our society. Currently, GAH is dedicated to meeting the mental health needs of the troops and families affected by the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Give an Hour currently has providers across the nation--in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico--and continues to recruit volunteer mental health professionals to its network.

SOURCE Give an Hour

Source: PR Newswire

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