By The Next List staff, CNN
(CNN) - Skip Rizzo is a wizard of the virtual world, a clinical psychologist and anything but your average lab geek. He’s also a key combatant in the U.S. military’s battle against post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Rizzo's lab is a part of The University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies.
Watch CNN at 2 p.m. ET on January 27 to see a half-hour look inside Rizzo's world. Here's a primer on why he's a member of CNN's The Next List:
Why you might know him: Rizzo grabbed headlines back in 2006 with "Virtual Iraq," a virtual reality PTSD therapy for combat veterans. The treatment combines latest in gaming technology with a clinical approach to treating PTSD called prolonged exposure therapy. "Virtual Iraq" is used in more than 50 Veterans Affairs hospitals in the United States.
Why he matters: Despite advances in PTSD treatment, Rizzo believes America can do more for its troops. His current effort is called STRIVE - and it's designed to prevent PTSD by intervening before a war deployment. Funded in part by grants from both the Army and Navy research communities, the 30-chapter virtual reality program will use a fully immersive, “'Band of Brothers'-like” simulation to better prepare service members for the pressures of combat before their boots hit the ground. Research trials will begin at California’s Camp Pendleton this spring.
His philosophy: Rizzo says his calling is to "take care of the folks who put themselves in harm’s way to protect our freedoms."
Oh, he's also into skull collecting: Rizzo is Harley-riding rugby player with a penchant for collecting skulls.
Why combat-related PTSD matters: One in 5 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been diagnosed with PTSD, according to George Washington University. That’s nearly 300,000 veterans as of October 2012. And the social and economic costs of PTSD are immense. First-year treatment alone costs the government $8,300 per person, or more than $2 billion so far. Suicides among active-duty military personnel averaged one per day in 2012. Veterans now account for 20% of suicides in the U.S., with the youngest (age 24 and younger) taking their lives at four times the rate of older veterans.
Each week, CNN's "The Next List" profiles innovators, visionaries and agents of change. They’re not household names just yet, but they’re movers and shakers in their own worlds. We’re introducing them to you because these individuals are steadily mapping the course to the future with their new ideas.
WHO: Host Dr. Sanjay Gupta
WHEN: Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. ET - All new time!
WHERE: Only on CNN
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2tXLaW0OoM Luggage security boarding drones are here
Yet another kind of bonus may be the variable extra, this means you gat a particular percent with the sum a person deposit. The percentage is different for just about every site – it may be 20% or even 50%. Some casinos even supply a 100% casino bonus. This is a way to have people back the digital game suites, but the online casino bonus means you need to play by some rules especially when you want to redraw your cash. This can be difficult because after you get the online casino bonus you will need to meet a number of conditions which might be not quickly accomplished. Even so, your efforts will probably be rewarded. free info http://www.fod.ac.cr/wiki/index.php/Unraveling_Your_Mysteries_Regarding_Online_Casinos
Very impressed. I'm wondering if this could be widely distributed (@ V.A. ?) as there are Viet Nam Vets finally looking for help. As far as applications, is there an avenue for the wives? I am specifically addressing Viet Nam era vets as I am 'of that age'. I'd be interested to see if such advancement can become integral to the women who married, or were married to these Vets, suffered with them, kept quiet about the behaviors, suffered the beatings, and had loaded guns to our heads? PTSD doesn't affect just one, and in the 80's nothing was offered. VN Vets suffered. If they admitted to PTSD benefits were denied. My ex still does not admit to the VA his PTSD. As a 'survivor' I was patently against war anywhere and feared exactly what has happened. Unfortunately I know much about living with PTSD, personally. Any chance an AZ woman can participate in or help develop something interactive geared toward the aftermath, the abuse? If Skip Rizzo's calling is "to take care of the folks who put themselves in harm’s way to protect our freedoms." then perhaps expand out to those of us who have parented our children alone.
What role, if any, does closure ceremony play in therapy?
Its good to see that he is getting treatment and not cimmiting a sucide
Ive seen some things man!