AirTalk’s weekly political roundtable recaps the headlines you might have missed over the weekend and previews some of the big stories we’re watching for in local, state and national politics this week. We also discuss the VA's move to consolidate mental health services into “evidence-based” therapy; and more.
Week in politics: the shutdown continues, Elizabeth Warren makes 2020 intentions known and more
AirTalk’s weekly political roundtable recaps the headlines you might have missed over the weekend and previews some of the big stories we’re watching for in local, state and national politics this week. Here are a few of the stories we’re following:
Government shutdown & budget showdown
Migrant kids dying in Customs & Border Protection custody
Newman, California Police Officer Ronil Singh killed, igniting debate over sanctuary laws
John Kelly is leaving the WH Chief of Staff Job
Stock market volatility & President's criticism of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell
Democrats are about to take over the House. What to expect from Pelosi et all
Elizabeth Warren is the first candidate signaling she's in the 2020 race
Claire McCaskill gets real on her way out -- attacks Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and warns Democrats will lose the white working class if they embrace progressive causes too closely
Trump's surprise trip to Iraq
With guest host Libby Denkmann.
Guests:
Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist and founder and chief executive officer of Rodriguez Strategies. He is also a former senior Obama advisor in 2008; he tweets
Sean T. Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; he is a former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush
What is ‘evidence-based’ therapy? Veterans protest shift away from group therapy for PTSD
Nearly 20 long-running West LA PTSD group therapy programs have dissolved this fall, as the Los Angeles VA overhauled its property and shifted its medical care to a different building.
The VA said the move would consolidate mental health services, but veterans who relied on the support and community from these programs protested the change. They refused to move to new quarters, which they said didn’t have the privacy or the space needed for their meetings. The group therapy program is being replaced by a 12-week course of “evidence-based” talk therapy for veterans experiencing PTSD.
So what exactly is “evidence-based” therapy? Is a three month “evidence-based” therapy course more effective for veterans than a recurring support group and community? If you’re a veteran, what do you think of this shift?
Call us at 866-893-5722.
With guest host Libby Denkmann.
Guests:
Leslie Martin, Licensed Clinical Social Worker; former Director of the PTSD Outpatient Services Team (POST) at West Los Angeles, VA
Michael Folonis, Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War; architect
David Riggs, professor of medical and clinical psychology and executive director of the Center for Deployment Psychology at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland