Archive for August 2018
VA/DOD CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS
This update of the Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Post-Traumatic Stress was developed under the auspices of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the Department of Defense (DoD), pursuant to directives from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). VHA and DoD define clinical practice guidelines as: This 2010 VA/DoD Post-Traumatic Stress guideline update…
Read MorePROMOTING PSYCHOLOGICAL RESILIENCE IN THE US MILITARY
Study Background, Purpose, and Approach The long and frequent deployments of U.S. armed forces associated with Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), combined with the other consequences of combat, such as exposure to trauma, have tested the resilience and coping skills of U.S. military service members and their families. While most military…
Read MoreINVISIBLE WOUNDS OF WAR
Since October 2001, approximately 1.64 million U.S. troops have been deployed for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) in Afghanistan and Iraq. Early evidence suggests that the psychological toll of these deployments—many involving prolonged exposure to combat-related stress over multiple rotations—may be disproportionately high compared with the physical injuries of combat. In the face…
Read MoreResilience
Resilience can mean many different things. Here is what I do not think it means: “the ability to endure waves of trauma without succumbing to the weight of complex tragedy; remaining productive in high-stress, high-stakes situations despite compounding pressures accumulated over time without opportunity for recovery.” I sometimes get the impression that military leaders invest…
Read MoreRethinking My Health After September 11 Exposure
I have been a New York City firefighter for the past sixteen years. During this time I have been exposed to toxins and carcinogens as a result of operating at fires and emergencies. Some calls-to-action are extreme such as the events of 911, but most are routine operations that happen on a daily basis throughout…
Read MoreON MEMORIAL DAY
On This Day As We Honor Those Who Gave Their Lives in Battle Remember Them Remember Their Families Top 10 Best War Movies of All Time.
Read MoreWorking with Horses on the Ground: Case Studies
During our 7th Warrior Camp® program, we were in the arena with 3 horses and 7 military veterans. This was day 4 and they had each been in the arena for 3 hours every day already, in different groups, and in private sessions. They had not fully come together as a whole and were struggling…
Read MoreWhy We Don’t Ride: Equine Assisted Psychotherapy, Military Veterans and Moral Injury
While programs using horses with war veterans proliferate few aim specifically at Moral Injury. Many believe that riding horses constitutes therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. While there may be a benefit because the movement of the horse is regulating to the nervous system, this practice is contraindicated for warriors with Moral Injury which we…
Read MoreTRR’s Warrior Camp: An Intensive Treatment Program for Combat Trauma in Active Military and Veterans of All Eras
Effective treatments for combat trauma in military service members exist, but barriers to care abound, including poor access, stigma, and dropout. Link to J Mil Med published article
Read MoreSuicide Monologue
One steamy night, the summer of 1969, at Marble Mt. Air Base near Da Nang in Viet Nam, a rocket exploded near me and I died. There was screaming, explosions, dust, smoke, chaos; I had no torn flesh, no blood in the dust, but I died. My flesh did not die but I had shattered.…
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