The Otis R. Bowen Center for Human Services Inc.’s statement of support (left) for the guard and reserve along with the center’s two-star designation as a military-ready and veteran-friendly mental health provider.

In the Fall of 2012, the Otis R. Bowen Center for Human Services was named a Military-Ready Behavioral Health Provider Organization by the Indiana Veterans’ Behavioral Health Network.

To receive this designation, select clinicians at each of Bowen Center’s nine county office locations completed specialized training in military culture, individual and family concerns around military deployment, and about the unique challenges our service men and women experience in coping with post-deployment transitions.

The goal of this initiative is to create the Indiana Veterans’ Behavioral Health Network, a statewide alliance of veteran-friendly behavioral health providers. In joining this important partnership, Bowen Center clinicians have made a commitment to complete ongoing training about military family stress, substance abuse, traumatic brain injury, and in understanding and effectively helping those suffering from symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

“We are saying to the public and to our veterans that we care about them, that we understand their issues, and that we are here to provide services sensitive to their unique needs,” says Jennifer Dyarman, outpatient therapist at Bowen Center’s Noble County office in Albion. Dyarman, herself a combat veteran who served our country in Iraq, indicates that this new provider designation means that Bowen Center professionals are trained and available to address the ever-growing needs of our veterans and their families, needs that in the past may have exceeded locally available resources.

Dyarman goes on to say, “Bowen Center is now available as a local and readily accessible behavioral health option for veterans. We are here to serve, not only our veterans themselves, but also their children and family members.”

The Bowen Center has been awarded a Two-Star rating by the IVBHN. It is Bowen Center’s intention to earn a Four-Star rating, the highest rating available through IVBHN, within the next year.