Posted on Jan 5, 2016
What form of therapy is most beneficial for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress and why? what are your thoughts on Group Therapy?
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Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 33
I don't believe one form of therapy is "best" for all. Different people have different needs, and have had different experiences. Quiet solitude can be helpful at times; having a trusted friend to listen in a nonjudgmental way can be equally beneficial. Bottom line: do what lets you relax.
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My take is that you can't assign a one size fits all. Every veteran is unique and every story is unique.
The one commonality, though, is that the veteran MUST be committed to working on their PTSD for the long haul. Seeing a Psychiatrist (or other prescriber if a Psychiatrist is not available), seeing a therapist, groups if assigned, meditation, medication, etc, are all part of it. As are doing things in a controlled manner to go outside the comfort zone...
If the veteran isn't fully invested, they won't ever recover...
The one commonality, though, is that the veteran MUST be committed to working on their PTSD for the long haul. Seeing a Psychiatrist (or other prescriber if a Psychiatrist is not available), seeing a therapist, groups if assigned, meditation, medication, etc, are all part of it. As are doing things in a controlled manner to go outside the comfort zone...
If the veteran isn't fully invested, they won't ever recover...
Group therapy is safe because you already know things about your fellow patients, and there is a good likelihood the group will experience an epiphany.
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A bunch of folks with similar backgrounds, sitting in a circle and bitching about what is going on in their lives is very cathartic - everyone in the group can relate with the others. Sure, you have PTSD from XX while I have it from YY, and she has it from ZZ - but we all share similar roots.
I really recommend group therapy.
One thing I found is that you find one person in that group that doesn't seem to "really" have anything wrong, and their causal event was a "non-event" in your opinion - and then there's that other person that is TOTALLY screwed up because of their horrible event. And what is funny as hell - is that EVERY PERSON in that group feels the same way - about totally different people. What I think is a laughable event is devastating to someone else, and what freaks me out on a daily basis, another person does for FUN!!
Yeah - push for group therapy if you have a choice or a chance.
I really recommend group therapy.
One thing I found is that you find one person in that group that doesn't seem to "really" have anything wrong, and their causal event was a "non-event" in your opinion - and then there's that other person that is TOTALLY screwed up because of their horrible event. And what is funny as hell - is that EVERY PERSON in that group feels the same way - about totally different people. What I think is a laughable event is devastating to someone else, and what freaks me out on a daily basis, another person does for FUN!!
Yeah - push for group therapy if you have a choice or a chance.
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I am betting that a lot of healing was done in ways you couldn't see. Besides, some folks heal at different rates... just like some folks can go through "hell" and have no residual effects while another can be destroyed by the mundane. Just like a river, the current flows at different rates, but it all ends up in the ocean in the end.
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MAJ Ken Landgren
The therapist is worth his/her weight in gold if they are able to communicate a framework of the problem and therapy.
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