Warriors Heart Leads the Call for Dual Diagnosis Care for Veterans and First Responders on World Mental Health Day

For World Mental Health Day, Warriors Heart calls attention to the dual battles of addiction and PTSD — and the need for integrated care.

SAN ANTONIO, TX, UNITED STATES, October 6, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In sync with World Mental Health Day (October 10, 2025) and Mental Illness Awareness Week (October 5–11, 2025), Warriors Heart is leading the call for greater access to dual diagnosis care for military service members, veterans, and first responders. Most who seek help at Warriors Heart are battling both addiction and co-occurring mental health challenges — which is why dual diagnosis care is built into their 42-day residential treatment program and carried through every step of the full continuum of care.

While dual diagnosis is not a new concept in behavioral health, many treatment programs still separate addiction treatment from mental health care, leaving warriors to navigate fragmented systems. Warriors Heart integrates both from day one — helping reduce stigma and making recovery more effective.

As the #1 warrior healing private and accredited program in the United States, Warriors Heart exclusively heals warriors struggling with addiction, PTSD, depression, anxiety, trauma, suicide ideation, and co-occurring issues. And as part of their Full Continuum of Care, Warriors Heart’s healing programs include Detox, 42-day Residential Treatment (inpatient), Day Treatment, Outpatient (IOP), Sober Living, TMS (brain treatment), Aftercare and an Alumni Program.

According a recent study, “85.3% of veterans with PTSD reported that worsening PTSD symptoms led to increased substance use.” (Source: NIH), and the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that “up to 75% of veterans with the SUD (Substance Abuse Disorder) also have PTSD, and 20 to 30% of veterans with PTSD have a comorbid SUD.”

One of Warriors Heart’s unique features is that each client is assigned two licensed counselors — one focusing on substance use disorder and another on their co-occurring mental health condition. This ensures warriors don’t have to fight one battle at a time, but both together.

As part of the Warriors Heart programs, clients regularly participate in evidence-based treatment, individual and group therapy. To process their healing, clients also participate in optional electives, which include fishing at the lake, gym, jiu jitsu, hiking trails, art studio, wood shop, metal shop, K9 therapy, equine therapy and more.

Based on 21 years of service in the U.S. Army and 12 deployments, Warriors Heart President/Co-Founder and Master Sergeant (Ret.) Tom Spooner reflects, “Warriors Heart opened in 2016 to battle the unacceptable average suicide rates of 22 veterans a day and one first responder every 17 hours in the U.S. This is not just a community issue - it is a national crisis.”

According to a 2025 U.S. market analysis, dual-diagnosis facilities are projected to be one of the fastest growing areas in behavioral health over the next decade, underscoring that Warriors Heart’s integrated model is not only clinically necessary but aligned with national priorities. (Source: https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/5846785/u-s-mental-health-addiction-treatment-centers).

When Warriors Heart CEO / Founder Josh Lannon was asked about his message to warriors struggling in a recent WAVY10 NBC Norfolk interview, he emphasized, “You are not alone.” And then Spooner added, “And we have the ability to bring you back home with your peers and with your tribe.”

As a former Law Enforcement Officer and Warriors Heart Co-Founder, Lisa Lannon adds, “We really want to break that stigma that our warriors have to be tough, and it’s not ok to get help. It is ok to get help. It makes them stronger as an individual, and for their families and communities once they get rid of the emotional wounds.”

Warriors Heart is a private, evidence-based treatment that is supervised by licensed professionals that include therapeutically constructed groups, individual therapy and activities. Warriors Heart accepts TRICARE Insurance, VA, and most commercial insurances. All of these activities are designed to heal the “mind, body and spirit” and support the Warriors Heart “Vision” to “bring 1 million warriors home.”

CONTACT INFO
Warriors Heart’s 24-hour hotline: 866-955-4035
or visit https://warriorsheart.com/connect

ABOUT: WARRIORS HEART (Bandera, Texas near San Antonio and Milford, Virginia, near Richmond and Washington D.C.) is the first and only private and accredited treatment program in the U.S. exclusively for “warriors” (active duty military, veterans, first responders and EMTs/paramedics) faced with the self-medicating struggles of alcohol addiction, prescription and drug addiction, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), mild TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and other co-occurring issues in a private, 100-bed facility on a 543-acre ranch in Bandera, Texas and 60-bed facility in Milford, Virginia. Along with a minimum 42-day peer-to-peer residential treatment program, Warriors Heart offers a full continuum of care with the option of Detox, Residential Treatment (inpatient), Day Treatment, Outpatient (IOP), Sober Living, TMS (brain treatment) and Aftercare. Warrior Heart is accredited by the Joint Commission, and is a member of the NAATP (National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers). As a “Preferred In-Network Community Care Provider”, Warriors Heart accepts TRICARE and most insurance. Warriors Heart’s work has been featured on the TODAY Show, CBS Health Watch, A&E Intervention, CNN, National Defense Radio Show, NPR, Shawn Ryan Show, Dr. Drew Midday Live, and in FOXNews.com, TIME, Forbes, Addiction Pro magazine, Stars and Stripes, Task & Purpose, Military Families Magazine and many more. There is a 24-hour Warriors Heart hotline (866-955-4035) answered by warriors. For more information, visit https://warriorsheart.com/connect

Liz Kelly
Goody PR
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