What form of therapy is most beneficial for veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress and why? what are your thoughts on Group Therapy?

2016-01-05T15:43:19-05:00

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jan 5 at 2016 3:45 PM

2016-01-05T15:45:06-05:00

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.

Response by SSG Kelly Ferguson made Jan 5 at 2016 3:51 PM

2016-01-05T15:51:59-05:00

Find something that you connect with and take it slow and enjoy

Response by CPT Pedro Meza made Jan 5 at 2016 3:56 PM

2016-01-05T15:56:19-05:00

Being honest, for some time I was seeing my therapist (bartender) and was very honest with him/her, I was medicated to point that my demons were under control, of course my meds were what I could afford, but had my medication monitored.

Response by Capt Bob Abbott made Jan 5 at 2016 3:58 PM

2016-01-05T15:58:37-05:00

EMDR

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jan 5 at 2016 3:59 PM

2016-01-05T15:59:02-05:00

It's my opinion that a great majority of therapists do not know a systematic approach to healing those with PTSD.

Response by SSG Leo Bell made Jan 5 at 2016 3:59 PM

2016-01-05T15:59:29-05:00

I agree with Spc David Rosenlund about the fishing and hunting. I know it helped me and I also spend time talking and hangout nag out with other vets. That's the best because I feel we are the only ones who can understand each other. If you talk to your family who has never served or a cilivian you will sometimes get a look from them like what are you talking about. I've also tried working part time with helped. It got me out and stop me from being a loner and just staying in the bed to myself all the time. I no longer get thoughts of hurting myself. You just have to keep active and be around positive people.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jan 5 at 2016 4:34 PM

2016-01-05T16:34:58-05:00

I want to bring up a new perspective. If the husband and wife both have PTSD, run major decisions by each other as decisions made by one person might end up with goofy results.

Response by SMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 5 at 2016 4:48 PM

2016-01-05T16:48:07-05:00

I've seen a lot of friends with PTSD benefit from having service dogs possibly because of the ability of the animal to sense distress in the human and act accordingly. Other than that they have found groups that work for them (through trial and error as not every group is the right fit).

Response by 1SG Charles Hunter made Jan 5 at 2016 4:59 PM

2016-01-05T16:59:15-05:00

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.

Response by MSgt Rosemary Connolly made Jan 5 at 2016 5:32 PM

2016-01-05T17:32:03-05:00

Vet Centers have professional counselors. They are trained and licensed and can tell the difference between venting and destructive "lashing out". Confidentially is a plus that you may not have in group therapy.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 5 at 2016 7:42 PM

2016-01-05T19:42:45-05:00

Airsoft for me. Though that is just for me.

Response by PO1 Glenn Boucher made Jan 5 at 2016 7:48 PM

2016-01-05T19:48:09-05:00

The only thing I can even come close to for group therapy is Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. I was sent to school while in the Navy to be a Departmental Drug and Alcohol Advisor and we were required to attend 3 AA meetings to see how they are beneficial. The meetings I attended were pretty good, I think because everyone there were regulars they had no issues opening up.
I think if someone is comfortable with opening up in front of a group then it could be beneficial. I suppose it depends more on the person and their comfort level.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 5 at 2016 8:43 PM

2016-01-05T20:43:10-05:00

As someone who works with service members living with PTSD on a daily basis, IMHO there are different therapies that work well to address the symptoms of PTSD. Here is my list of therapies I would recommend to someone living with PTSD. There are others, these are the ones I have seen first hand work.

1. Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE) this is one of the most intense treatments available for the symptoms of PTSD. It works well for emotional concerns such as anger, anxiety, and guilt.
2. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) this therapy requires a good majority of work outside of the therapy office. It works well for painful thoughts and behaviors.
3. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) this approach is innovative in that it does not seek out to eliminate the symptoms it seeks out to utilize values to produce a fulfilling life experience and feeling better is a byproduct of living well.
4. Any of these treatments in a group setting increase their effectiveness.

PTSD is an anxiety diagnosis and perpetuated by a system of avoidance. Avoidance works in the short term. However, over years (7-12) the avoidance stops working and a persons life is restricted to only a few places and only a few people and a few emotions, mostly anger.

I would like to leave two thoughts here for others to consider
1. A memory is not something that can be deleted, medicated, or forgotten. It is also not 3D and can not kill you. If your goal is to get rid of the memory therapy may not go the way you want it to. If you go toward treatment looking for a new meaning to the event any of the aforementioned therapies will work well.
2. A persons willingness to go towards this painful memory/experience stands in direct conflict with the avoidance that keeps PTSD alive and well in a person. The question then becomes can you have this painful event in your life and still live a full and satisfying life with it.

remember, What gives light to the world...must endure burning --Viktor Frankel

Response by CPT Bruce Rodgers made Jan 5 at 2016 11:05 PM

2016-01-05T23:05:39-05:00

It's important to recognize triggers and learn the skills to address the triggers. You can control your brain chemistry with training, think of therapy as training

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jan 5 at 2016 11:38 PM

2016-01-05T23:38:15-05:00

Eric had some good points. My experience is different things are useful at different times as you climb up out of the hole and build a strong cage for your dragon. Early on, therapies to get you out of "the numb". Following that, therapies that get you away from turning within to turning outwards. You have to be ready to learn and change before you can move forward. Next is reconnecting with external things that bring pleasure and satisfaction. Hobbies, sports, trigger time, whatever. While doing all those things, you'll notice other things to appreciate. Next is having a good strategy and skill to live with it. For me, some ongoing dragon cage maintenance is a good thing. Someone mentioned AA. Like other programs like NA, they pose an ongoing effort not to relapse by paying attention to the benefits of other things and acknowledging that doing nothing means your relapsing.

I've had the chance to work with some Vets with my therapy dog, Beckham. Not too frequently, but in a non stress casual environment. Becks is good at getting people out of their shells. Now that we've moved, we have to start over making connections. Becks is now 8 but we now have Abby and Marley who will only weigh about 150 who we'll start training and then get into work mode with them. Part of my cage maintenance is working with others or rather have paws on the ground.

Response by PFC Richard Wise made Jan 6 at 2016 3:18 AM

2016-01-06T03:18:33-05:00

Treatment is specific to each case. There is no one method.

That said, there are general things that everyone should do. Take care of your body. Eat right, and get some exercise. Don't isolate. Keep in contact with good, supportive people. Eliminate or limit contact with bad, unsupportive people -- even if that is your MOTHER!

Get a *good* therapist, and let him/her guide you with specifics. With the huge demand for PTSD, this is the hardest part!

As an aside, I am ashamed as an American with the way the government has treated the people who were wounded at its orders. I have a friend who works for the VA and processes disability paperwork. He tried to blame a lot of the backlog on people who file frivolous claims. (Ex: I have PTSD because my drill sergeant yelled at me.

I told him that that was no excuse for the VA (and Congress) to not have enough people/funding to take care of it. BS claims are always there, so it goes with the territory.

OK. Off my soapbox!

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Jan 6 at 2016 9:56 AM

2016-01-06T09:56:02-05:00

Sgt Joe LaBranche First let me say I'm not an expert or a Licensed Professional. With that said from what I know and what I've been involved with during my career and recently with Virtual World Solutons, d/b/a Sponsor a Vet Life most of the veterans that I've worked with say there are different programs that work differently on each individual. On other words, what works for one individual my not work for others and there are a lot of veterans that don't like the group therapy and some that do. There are some of us that don't agreed with going back and creating the original incident that led to the PTSD, TBI, or MST. So, I guess what I'm saying is that one size doesn't fit all. Even the program I'm promoting may not be the answer, but we encoruage veterans and active duty members to at least check it out before they say "No that isn't for me!". We've seen some very good results in our program, which is based on 3D Immersive Interaction with one or more veterans in the Virtual World and a very happy and pleasant port system that allows veterans or individuals to be in a positive environment and one that offers them others to talk to when they are down or feeling depressed. I have provided a link below to register for a free and confidential demostration for those who are interested. Again, I'm not an expert and I truly believe that it comes down to what is making the best impact and progress for the individual when it comes to the treatment or therapy they choose! Here is the link for our Thursday evening webinars: http://www.sponsoravet.life/#!webinar-/dxphe

savl

Response by SGT Janet Sonntag made Jan 6 at 2016 10:09 AM

2016-01-06T10:09:12-05:00

Personal experience: I felt more comfortable in group therapy, my husband and I also sit and share things (he's prior service as well).

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Jan 6 at 2016 11:20 AM

2016-01-06T11:20:06-05:00

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...

Response by MSG William Wold made Jan 6 at 2016 2:57 PM

2016-01-06T14:57:40-05:00

Ugh, I couldn't handle group therapy, there are some real challenges with some of those people in the sessions. I was in one probably 3 sessions. At break at the second session a couple guys took me aside and tried to coach me into what to do and say for the attempt to up the PTSD disability rating. After the fourth session, I quit going. A couple months later I was in the facility and the counselor was walking down the hall, he stopped me and said, hey, we miss you at the sessions, what happened?
I told him I was not comfortable there, and what the other "patients" were trying to "coach" off line. I told him, I know what I feel and I don't have to lie about it just to get a higher rating, I was there to seek a resolve to either rid myself of this condition or learn to live with it, and I wasn't getting anywhere. He stared at me for about a minute then said, ok thank you for being honest about it. A few months later I received a letter from VA upping my percentage of PTSD disability, then I received a letter and a list of civilian therapists in my local area I was authorized to contact for private sessions. I spent two years with one of those, it seemed to work tremendously, plus meeting a woman who was an ER RN and trauma nurse, we hit it off so much we married. I still have issues, but she is able to "ground" me as she can hear so much better than I do and can hear helicopters, planes, potential other triggers.

Response by TSgt Richard Satterfield made Jan 6 at 2016 4:45 PM

2016-01-06T16:45:08-05:00

From personal experience I can honestly say no one method seems to be best. I think all have helped me. I have even done EMDR. I think it depends on the individual and your openness to getting help with the issue.

Response by SGT Rick Ash made Jan 6 at 2016 5:12 PM

2016-01-06T17:12:49-05:00

One-on-One therapy with a counselor that went through PTSD and beat it would be ideal. In Group Therapy there would not be many individuals willing to go first or even add their own 2 cents to someone else's comment.

Response by Lt Col Scott Shuttleworth made Jan 8 at 2016 9:37 AM

2016-01-08T09:37:44-05:00

Group therapy doesn't work for me. I am of the belief that each individual has their own need to combat PTSD. Just as there are many levels, mild to severe, and types of PTSD, there are numerous ways to handle PTSD. I do believe that every individual needs to seek counseling and advice from a professional to help find that thing that gets them through and cope and heal. For me it is motorcycle riding, hunting, fishing etc being on my farm. For friends of mine it is running marathons. Another friend is an avid weight lifter. I have heard of others that like to read or cook, work on classic cars or motorcycles, or animal therapy. I have heard of folks that do like group therapy because they feel the need for closeness with others that have experienced the same things. I just think that PTSD can't be put in a bottle and that group therapy is the end all. It may be a good start for some to find friends with like interests but each individual has to come to grips with what does them the best to overcome and exploit it.

Response by SGT Justin Anderson made Jan 8 at 2016 3:16 PM

2016-01-08T15:16:56-05:00

There's something out there for everybody. It's hard to pinpoint what's best because everyone is different. I personally like being in group because it reassures me I'm not alone in how I feel. I have also found that drawing what I feel or am having issues with work as well.

Response by LT Erik Frederick made Jan 8 at 2016 4:00 PM

2016-01-08T16:00:48-05:00

The most important thing you can do is take that first step and get help. It's odd...if you were in an accident and your wrist swelled up the size of a mellon, you'd go see someone. We still have too many of us not willing to take that first step. Im glad this is a discussion that can be had out in the open. I know I took way too long to deal with it myself, USS IOWA turret two explosion, but eventually I did though had a few false starts. From my experience: find a counselor that has PTSD experience! They will all take your money but just as we have specialties in the military, so too do counselors! Next, don't be afraid to switch tactics if its not working. What works for one may to work someone else; I just don't see me fishing, David :). Finally, keep hope. I won't debate whether or not it is curable or simply manageable, but I can tell you if you treat it, you're your life is going to be a hell of a lot better!

Response by SSG Delanda Hunt made Jan 8 at 2016 6:08 PM

2016-01-08T18:08:37-05:00

Watching hard core war movies.

Response by A1C Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 8 at 2016 8:31 PM

2016-01-08T20:31:04-05:00

There are a lot of different ways to treat PTSD, it all depends on the individual really. Some receive the best help from having a companion by their side such as a dog. I've also seen group therapy, or therapy sessions in general work for people. Many veterans are afraid or ashamed of their Post-Traumatic Stress though, so it may not be the best option. When I was in grade school I lived with my grandmother and grandfather, and he had PTSD. He was one who really didn't want to talk to many others about everything he experienced and suffered. But when he did talk and explain what troubles him, you could definitely tell it relaxed him.

Response by SSgt Jim Gilmore made Jan 8 at 2016 10:13 PM

2016-01-08T22:13:44-05:00

Having done both individual and group therapy I think both have a place both will not work for everyone nor will one over another. The professional needs to help determine the best action for each client. Group had more benefit to me personally for a long time but have not been in many years now.

Response by SPC Anne Miller made Jan 8 at 2016 11:50 PM

2016-01-08T23:50:15-05:00

Equine therapy

Response by SPC Heidi Goodnature made Jan 28 at 2016 9:19 AM

2016-01-28T09:19:33-05:00

I recently went through the PPH Program at the MSP VA - the best part about it was the Group Sessions with the other vets. Being around other people that actually "get it" is comforting and it is easier to open up.

Response by MAJ Jack Horn, LPC, NCC, CCMHC, CCTP, CCTP-II, CCFP, CDBT made May 24 at 2016 10:23 PM

2016-05-24T22:23:45-04:00

Disclaimer: I am a mental health professional and trained in treating trauma. This question tends to bring out the sacred cows in our profession. I just happened to scan a summary by the APA with updated treatment guidelines on this earlier today. There is a handful of treatment modalities that have been shown to be effective based on metanalyses of data through 12/15. Group therapy did not rate highly. The top performer seemed to be exposure therapy followed by several varieties of cognitive therapy. Some approaches applied both exposure and cognitive interventions. They also listed a handful of newer treatment modalities they were still assessing. I use narrative exposure therapy in my practice for several reasons with good outcomes. The APA listed it among those deemed empirically supported, but no specific numbers since studies are still too few on it. My personal opinion is that any of those I listed would likely have a good shot at helping, with the major proviso you worked with a competent clinician with whom you could click. I believe that your relationship with your clinician is 70% of the solution and his/her choice of treatment modality 30% of the solution. In the case of PTSD treatment, I will admit, doing the treatment correctly is probably more critical than with addressing other disorders, but the strength of the bond itself still is the show stopper.

Response by MSgt Rosemary Connolly made May 27 at 2016 8:24 AM

2016-05-27T08:24:23-04:00

I went to a seminar on PTSD and the therapist mentioned repeat retelling of the story that triggered PTSD over and over until the significance is lowered/numbed.

Response by SGT James Hammons made Dec 15 at 2021 9:59 PM

2021-12-15T21:59:05-05:00

Live with PTSD was hard at first. I had to try several things. The most evective was learning to socialize again without the frat of my reactions. I found a bird that I take a lot of places, I did equine therapy, and participated in WWP peer groups. I now volunteer every chance I get,