SWAMPSCOTT — At the E.F. Gilmore Disabled American Veterans’ first-of-its-kind mental health summit at Swampscott High School Wednesday night, a panel of five experts discussed the mental health challenges that both veterans and teenagers face.

Before DAV Commander Jeffrey Blonder introduced the panel, he welcomed the summit’s keynote speaker, Congressman Seth Moulton, who opened up about his struggles with post-traumatic stress when he returned from the War in Iraq as a U.S. Marines veteran.

“When I ran for office, the big secret that I had, the big sort of skeleton in the closet… is that I had not only had post-traumatic stress, but even worse, actually gotten treatment for it. I say ‘even worse’ sarcastically because in politics in America, dealing with your mental health problems has been a death sentence for your success in politics,” Moulton said.

Moulton also spoke about his efforts to establish the 988 mental health crisis hotline, which he said has seen a 50% growth in its caller rate since it was launched in the summer of 2022. He said his goal is to ensure every American sees a mental health specialist at least once a year, adding that for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress or any individuals struggling with mental health issues, stigma remains a barrier to treatment.

“There really shouldn’t be a disparity between mental and physical health. We’re learning more and more every day about how the two are intertwined. And yet, if I were to tell you tonight that I’ve got my annual physical tomorrow, no one would bat an eye. You wouldn’t say, ‘Oh my gosh what’s wrong?’ But if I said I was going to see a therapist tomorrow, you would probably have a different reaction,” Moulton said.

Blonder then introduced the panel, which comprised Bedford Veterans Association Chief of Mental Health Services Kenneth Link, psychologist and Boston Vet Center Director Dr. Marika Solhan, Co-Director of Interface Referral Services at William James College Tanya Snyder, Swampscott Public Schools Director of Social Emotional Learning Craig Harris, and Swampscott Police Officer Sal Caruso.

When the panel was asked whether they believed the stigma surrounding mental health had dwindled in recent years, Link responded that while there was still much work to be done, veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are seeking help for mental health services at a higher rate than those who served in Vietnam.

“I think it’s generational as well. With the older veteran population versus the younger veteran population, there are differences in terms of attitudes about seeking help,” Link said. “There’s a lot that goes into this when we had, for example, Vietnam returning home from war, they did not receive the support and the welcome that we saw after the first Gulf War even after the post-9-11 wars.”

Solhan said that she has increasingly seen veterans referring other veterans for treatment at the Boston Vet center, which she also attributed to cultural, systemic, and generational changes in the way veterans view mental health issues. She added that she believes the stigma surrounding mental health is still very prevalent with first responders such as police officers and firefighters.

Caruso said he believed that much of the stigma making it difficult for law enforcement officers to seek help was the military-style training that police officers undergo. He added that in the time he has served as a police officer, he has noticed some changes in the way police view mental health.

“There’s one end of the stigma that is you may be afraid of what people are going to think of you, but there’s the other side that’s been ingrained into our culture that you can’t show weakness — and it’s not weakness,” Caruso said. “Most of our guys that go to these calls try to stretch that by telling us that you’re struggling. That makes you so much stronger than you could ever have realized.”

After Blonder asked the panel how they suggest reaching out to a friend or family member who appears to be suffering, the panel discussed suicide prevention and mental health intervention.

Link said that in many cases, veterans will appear fine when they come to the VA for treatment but then will show subtle or obvious signs of distress at home or with close friends and loved ones. He said that when it comes to mental health treatment, it takes a community approach that might involve speaking with those close to a person in need of help.

Often, Snyder said, those close to a person who is suffering from mental illness might be afraid to ask him or her about suicidal ideation, fearing that it might plant a seed in that person’s mind. Snyder added that direct questions about suicidal ideation or self-harm will likely not cause any harm and might flag warning signs — such as mood shifts, suicidal remarks, or struggles with alcohol or drugs — in advance.

“Sometimes people are having thoughts (of suicide or self-harm), but they don’t have the intention at this point to act on them. That’s good information because that’s a very different need than somebody who has been having those thoughts and intends to act on those thoughts,” Snyder said. “You have to feel comfortable asking those questions. You have to feel comfortable with the answers that you may receive. As a therapist, or as a spouse, partner or friend, it’s really thinking, ‘how am I going to help support someone telling me more about it.’”

While both Harris and Caruso mentioned that they had made it standard practice to directly ask those who appear to be at risk about suicide, Harris noted that Swampscott Schools have tried to give each student an “anchor adult” to whom he or she could talk to in a safe environment. He said that one of the best deterrents to suicidal thought was to strengthen one’s social connections.

“I’ve done a number of risk assessments over the years, and the main reaction I see when I ask directly (about suicide and self-harm) is just a deflation because the person is just feeling all that stress, all the things that they’ve been carrying internally, is now able to be shared,” Harris said. “The number one thing that helps save lives is social connection and not feeling lonely. Being able to have other people with you to understand what you were going through is a gigantic protective factor.”

At the end of the meeting, retired Swampscott Police Detective Ted Delano was given two citations — one from Moulton and the other from the DAV — for his work expanding mental health resources in his department and community.