She Serves: Ohio State grad helping soldiers prioritize mental health

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Physical health is important in our armed forces and so is mental health. There’s a continued push to break the stigma of soldiers asking for help.

One of the leaders in that area is a graduate of the Ohio State University and actually made the decision to join the military while standing in The Shoe on a Buckeye football Saturday.

Columbus native and Ohio State grad Captain Lisa DiSilvestro is helping soldiers stand strong in a different kind of battle.

“It’s about being able to operate in stressful environments and you know - how do you manage stress and anger and frustration and, you know, fear and all the emotions that come up with the realities of our job,” DiSilvestro, an army doctor who serves as the Brigade Aeromedical Psychologist, said.

ABC6 On Your Side visited with her at Hunter Army Airfield, right in the heart of Savannah, Ga., as part of a rare opportunity to meet the women warriors from Ohio who make up the 3rd Infantry Division.

While we met up with CPT DiSilvestro at the clinic, that’s not where you find her each day. She is embedded with her unit.

“I’m not just at a clinic,” she said. “I’m actually with the unit. When they go to the field, I go to the field when they deploy I deploy and so I’m not just a provider you know in a stuffy clinic somewhere way away from their unit. I’m in the company with them. You know, I serve with them I go out with them and I think that’s really important that shared experience that shared bond.”

That shared bond allows her to build trust and reach fellow soldiers on a different level.

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“I tell a lot of my patients you’re not a robot,” she said. “Our humanity is sometimes our greatest strength - being able to serve people in the midst of a disaster or in the midst of combat, you know, our humanity is a part of the puzzle.”

DiSilvestro said more and more soldiers are seeing the importance of prioritizing their mental health and asking for help.

“We are seeing much greater utilization,” she said. “We are seeing it for people that just want to prevent problems before they develop. They’re starting to notice some patterns and they just wanna get ahead of it, which is great cause that’s a lot easier to work with.”

As she serves her country, she proudly displays her pride for her hometown. She cheers for all of our Columbus teams, including the Blue Jackets and the Crew, but there is something special about her connection to The Ohio State University.

“I am a child of Ohio State,” DiSilvestro said. “I was literally born in a hospital room overlooking the stadium. My dad‘s a professor there.”

Their family has made countless memories cheering for Ohio State, including THE Game.

“It was Ohio State versus Michigan, one versus two,” she said, remembering the experience. “I stormed the field with my dad after we won. We walked and joined the team to sing ‘Carmen Ohio’ on the field.”

The Horseshoe also is where she made the decision to join the military, standing inside the historic stadium on the anniversary of Sept. 11.

“We were sitting in the stands and I could see the emotion on the faces around me as they were flashing through pictures of people who had been killed in service,” DiSilvestro said, reflecting on the power of the moment. “I heard somebody say ‘that was my student’ and for me, in that moment, I had never had a personal connection to any kind of military and in that moment, I knew I was gonna serve.”

Now, she serves in a field that is growing in impact and saving lives, continuing the long-standing tradition of women in our armed forces.

“My gender is a strength,” DiSilvestro said. “And, you know, regardless of what gender expression looks like, I think it can be a strength if it’s used in a capacity where it’s a good fit.”

And no matter where the Army takes her, DiSilvestro carries her Buckeye pride with her wherever she goes.

“Just having a sense that, no matter where I go, I always have family because there are always Buckeyes,” she said.