"Going into combat situation was high stress, but I did my job for my country. When I came home, things got quiet. But my mind continued racing like in combat. Flashbacks occurred, and there was nightmares. I had outburst of anger, sometimes for little issues. It was different. I was not the same person. I got medical care for my severely damaged knee. But I knew something deeper was not right. I needed help".   "Becoming a disabled veteran was not easy. Not just for my knee, but also for PTSD. Help was available for PTSD: medications for the chemical imbalance in my brain and couseling. Through the Integrative Health Care Program, acupunture helped with pain, while self-hypnosis and meditation helped calm my mind and decrease anger outburst.   "The help I received empowered me to care for myself and get better. Now I want to help my fellow veterans. If I help one veteran, it's an accomplisment. If I help ten more veterans, it is a gift back to me".

 

MD James C. Overall's Story

 

 

 

Jim is currently President of the Integrative Health Network, a not-for-profit public charity in Salt Lake City, whose vision is to: “Facilitate evolutionary change for health and wellbeing in community”.  

 

Jim also serves as a physician in an integrative health clinic and program at a regional medical center in SLC.

 

Prior to the VA, Jim was on the full-time faculty in Pediatrics at the University of Utah (U of U) School of Medicine for 26 years.  His administrative responsibilities included Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the U of U and Primary Children’s Medical Centers, Vice Chair for the Pediatric Department, and Medical Director of the Diagnostic Virology Laboratory for the Department of Pathology clinical laboratory (ARUP).

 

He is author of over 140 scientific publications and 40 book chapters or journal review articles on pediatric infectious diseases and evaluation of antiviral drugs for herpes virus infections.  He has had several National Institutes of Health (NIH) and pharmaceutical industry grants or contracts, and has been invited speaker or visiting professor in 28 states and 8 foreign countries.  He served on NIH grant review committees, and national committees for the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Board of Pediatrics, and other organizations. 

 

In 1996, he “retired” from the full time faculty to devote energy to activities related to health and wellbeing of patients.

 

IHNOverview.doc

PHD Philip James Davis's Story

 

 

 

Philip currently serves as a chaplain to the 650^th ASG, a reserves support unit that oversees the training needs of units in 5 states. He has served as an Army chaplain for twenty years, in Hawaii, California and Utah. He maintains an appointment as a research psychologist at the UCLA Medical School and an appointment in research at the Department of Physiology, University of Utah Medical School. He is co-founder of Neurotraq, a company devoted to nonpharmacological interventions in chronic pain. He has provided direct and indirect therapy to Vietnam vets on an inpatient and outpatient basis and was recently full time with the California National Guard dealing with demobilization issues in that state. He also has extensive experience with researching conditions that are common to returning vets. He is author of over 10 peer-reviewed scientific publications in the field of chronic pain management.  He maintains an active practice reaching out to servicemen and their families on a range of issues.