TC's Resilience Center Partners with the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System | Teachers College Columbia University

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TC's Resilience Center Partners with the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System

 

The Teachers College Resilience Center for Veterans and Families and VA New York Harbor Healthcare System (VANYHHS) have created a partnership to assist hundreds of student veterans and their family members within the many institutions at Columbia University.

The goals of the TC Resilience Center and VANYHHS are very similar, according to Martina Parauda, VANYHHS Director, and Joseph Geraci, Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry), U.S. Army, Resilience Center, TC and Ph.D. candidate in Clinical Psychology at TC.

A well-established VANYHHS program called Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership (VITAL) provides counseling and referral to students at CUNY Baruch and John Jay campuses and at Fordham University on problems relating to medical and mental health problems, housing, finances and tutoring to Veterans.

“It’s all about our Veterans,” said Parauda.

The Teachers College Resilience Center conducts groundbreaking research on human emotional resilience and the impact on Veterans of the transition to civilian life. Through the College’s Dean Hope Center for Educational and Psychological Services, it provides clinical training of therapists to assist Veterans and their families as they transition back to civilian life.

The Resilience Center also provides Veteran Multicultural Competence training for educators, business leaders and mental health professionals. One Resilience Center study is assessing the effectiveness of providing peer mentorship to transitioning Veterans.

“The new partnership creates a foothold for veterans and their families within Columbia,” Geraci said.

At TC, veterans requesting counseling services will meet with Yvette Branson, Coordinator of VITAL, to address issues such as anger, stress and attention, and to be referred to the Dean Hope Center at TC or to the main VA Medical Center. The services at Dean Hope -- including counseling and psychological services -- are free for Veterans and their families.

Veterans enrolled at other colleges with partnerships with VITAL (including Baruch, John Jay and Fordham) may make appointments to meet with Branson at their own campuses or at TC.

To learn more about the Teachers College Resilience Center for Veterans and Families, please click here to visit their site.

 

Published Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Group Photo
Photo: Standing (l-r) Lori Fox, General Counsel, TC; Yi-Hui Chang, Assoc Dean, Dean Hope Center; Jillian Arenz, MA Candidate, TC; Dr. Yvette Branson, Coordinator, VITAL; Joseph Geraci, Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry), Resilience Center, TC ; Russall Guliza, Office of Doctoral Studies, TC. Seated (l-r) Suzanne Murphy,VP, External Affairs, TC; Martina Parauda, Director, VANYHHS, Dinela Rosa, Ph.D., Director, Dean-Hope Center.