Overcoming Barriers to Wellness in the Veteran Community

Despite soaring rates of mental health conditions in the United States and among the Veteran community, fewer than half of those in need seek mental health services. Learn about the barriers to care, including cultural and practical barriers, as well as strategies to overcome these barriers.

Learning Outcomes:

  • List at least three mental health challenges Veterans face
  • Identify at least two barriers to accessing mental health care in the Veteran community
  • Identify at least two strategies for increasing access to care for our Veterans

Speaker

Rae Anne Ho Fung

Rae Anne Ho Fung, PhD, Executive Director of Clinical Integration at Rogers Behavioral Health, is a licensed psychologist and Army Veteran who specializes in the use of evidence-based interventions in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and co-morbid conditions.

Dr. Ho Fung’s interest in trauma psychology emerged from her time as an urban teacher and as a combat veteran. Since then, she has spent the last decade delving deep into the world of trauma psychology and has treated Veteran and civilian survivors of interpersonal violence, sexual assault, physical abuse, community violence, combat and motor vehicle and industrial accidents. Dr. Ho Fung developed the Adolescent Trauma Recovery Program at Rogers Behavioral Health and before moving into an operations role, supervised in the Adult Trauma Recovery and Mental Health and Addiction Recovery partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs.

Currently, Dr. Ho Fung is responsible for clinical quality, fiscal responsibility and operational oversight of Rogers Behavioral Health’s three largest clinics with approximately 150 employees, serving 450 patients at the partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient levels of care. She is committed to equity and diversity which includes increasing access to care for underserved populations through the creation of novel programs, including the newly develop serious and persistent mental illness intensive outpatient program, as well as collaborating with the community to increase services for military, veterans, and their families.

In addition to her work at Rogers, Dr. Ho Fung co-developed and facilitates trauma counseling courses through the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee’s School of Continuing Education. She is also a member of SE Wisconsin’s Veteran Suicide Prevention Taskforce.