Using Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation Therapy to Treat Behavioral Health Symptoms in a Combat Operational Setting.

INTRODUCTION Addressing combat operational stress reactions (COSR) in the deployed setting can be a challenging endeavor. During the Global War on Terror, the modalities of psychotherapy and general medicine are not always feasible to manage COSR. Available behavioral health resources and practitioners remain taxed despite the most robust behavioral health billeting in recent history. Studies have suggested that COSR symptoms including sleep problems, anxiety, and depression are common presenting issues in the operational setting. Cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) is a treatment modality that passes low-frequency microcurrent into neuronal tissue. A growing body of research suggests that CES offers relief from symptoms associated with COSR in similar populations. A recent survey revealed that 50 to 66% of respondents using CES reported symptom improvement, with less than 1% reporting side effects. CES provided our behavioral health team with an innovative and efficient tool in improving functioning in our warfighters affected by COSR.