Rep. Seth Moulton on Tuesday unveiled a plan to tackle mental health issues, notably for U.S. veterans, while talking about his own experience seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate and combat veteran says he wants to increase mental health check-ups for active-duty military and veterans and require a mandatory counseling session for everyone returning from a combat deployment within two weeks of coming back home.
“I think it’s time to completely rethink mental health care in America, and to make it as routine as physical health care,” the Massachusetts Democrat said Tuesday evening.
He held a town hall on the issue at the Lynn Museum in Massachusetts and is holding similar events in South Carolina on Wednesday and in Nevada on Saturday.
He said he had “nightmares” and things he couldn’t stop thinking about after returning from combat, but that his symptoms seemed “minor” compared to others who might have been contemplating suicide, for example.
“And so I felt, who am I to go to the VA and seek help? I’m not sure I even have post-traumatic stress,” he said in a video posted by MSO News. “But eventually, I talked to enough fellow vets to recognize that I did have it and that it would be smart to deal with and that I’d be better off if I did. And that’s when I started seeing a therapist when I was in grad school. And it made a difference in my life.”
Mr. Moulton’s plan would also fund yearly mental health screenings for high schoolers across America and establish a national mental health crisis hotline.
His disclosure that he received mental health treatment is a major step for a presidential candidate.
Former Sen. Thomas Eagleton withdrew from the Democrats’ 1972 presidential ticket after it came to light that he had undergone electroshock therapy.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.