,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #aiig  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #bi1 #bjai,mr4
 ,ryan 7for himself1 ,mr4               
,reschenthaler1 ,mr4 ,watkins1 ,mr4     
,suozzi1 ,mrs4 ,radewagen1 and ,mr4     
,carson of ,indiana7 introduced the     
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of 
,veterans ,affairs to conduct a pilot   
program on posttraumatic growth1 and for
 other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this
 ,act may be cited as the ,veterans     
,posttraumatic ,growth ,act4  #b4       
,findings ,congress finds the following3
  7#a7 ,there is a shortage of adequate1
 timely1 and effective mental health    
care available to veterans across the   
,united ,states4  7#b7 ,the ,department 
of ,veterans ,affairs continues to      
highlight veterans mental health care   
and suicide prevention as a key         
priority4  7#c7 ,there is an opportunity
 to explore effective alternative       

treatments focused on the area of       
posttraumatic growth4  #c4 ,pilot       
program on posttraumatic growth  7a7    
,program ,the ,secretary of ,veterans   
,affairs shall conduct a pilot program  
to study the effectiveness and benefits 
of nonprofit posttraumatic growth       
programs to determine--  7#a7 the       
outcomes of such programs in contrast to
 traditional models of mental health    
care2  7#b7 the possible integration of 
such nonprofit programs into the mental 
health care programs provided by the    
,secretary2 and  7#c7 the budgetary     
impacts of such integration4  7b7       
,review and evaluation ,in developing   
the pilot program under subsection 7a71 
the ,secretary shall--  7#a7 review     
relevant literature to summarize the    
existing knowledge regarding            
posttraumatic growth programs2 and  7#b7
 evaluate such programs4  7c7 ,duration 
,the ,secretary shall carry out the     
pilot program under subsection 7a7 for a
 two-year period beginning on the date  

that is #ahj days after the date of the 
enactment of this ,act4  7d7 ,locations 
,the ,secretary shall select more than  
one location at which to carry out the  
pilot program under subsection 7a71 of  
which at least one location shall       
include a rural area4  7e7 ,participants
  7#a7 ,eligibility ,a veteran is       
eligible to participate in the pilot    
program under subsection 7a7 if the     
,secretary determines that the veteran  
is--  7,a7 not at known immediate risk  
of attempting suicide2 and  7,b7 not    
participating in traditional mental     
health treatment4  7#b7 ,female veterans
 ,not fewer than four groups of veterans
 participating in the pilot program     
under subsection 7a7 shall consist only 
of female veterans4  7f7 ,nonprofit     
organizations ,the ,secretary shall     
carry out the pilot program under       
subsection 7a7 by entering into an      
agreement with one or more nonprofit    
organizations that--  7#a7 have staff   
with expertise in evidence-based care   

and experience working with veterans2   
7#b7 have experience in the science of  
posttraumatic growth2 and  7#c7 uses a  
standardized1 evaluated1 and            
comprehensive curriculum4  7g7 ,report  
,not later than one year after the date 
on which the pilot program under        
subsection 7a7 is completed1 the        
,secretary shall submit to ,congress a  
report on the pilot program1 including a
 comparison of the care provided under  
the pilot program and the clinical care 
model of the ,department4