Practicing Peace in Times of War with Pema Chödrön is a beautiful offering in line with the philosophy of Sustainable Resilience. Everything from a lecture in New York City to "a ground-breaking year-long support program for activists working with intense human suffering."
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Books and articles on the impact on families
This Story in the Hartford Courant discusses issues around transitioning back to civilian life from deployment.
For a deeper treatment of this topic check out these titles by Aphrodite Matsakis, Ph.D.:
Vietnam Wives: Facing the Challenges of Life with Veterans Suffering Post-Traumatic Stress
Back from the Front: Combat Trauma, Love, and the Family
For a deeper treatment of this topic check out these titles by Aphrodite Matsakis, Ph.D.:
Vietnam Wives: Facing the Challenges of Life with Veterans Suffering Post-Traumatic Stress
Back from the Front: Combat Trauma, Love, and the Family
The Military Looks for New Treatments
The military is scrambling for new ways to treat the brain injuries
and post-traumatic stress of troops returning home from war. And every
kind of therapy -- no matter how far outside the accepted medical form
-- is being considered. The Army just unveiled a $4 million program to
investigate everything from "spiritual ministry, transcendental
meditation, [and] yoga" to "bioenergies such as Qi gong, Reiki, [and]
distant healing" to mend the psyches of wounded troops. ...
The Defense Department "is dedicated to supporting evidence-based
approaches to medical treatment and wants to support the use of
alternative therapies if they are proven efficacious," notes a
recently-issued request for proposals.
But many of these treatments haven't been held up to much rigorous
scientific scrutiny before. So the Army is looking to hand out $4
million in "seedling grants" to "conduc[t] rigorous clinical studies"
into all sorts of "novel approaches." Projects "containing preliminary
data" will be eligible for up to $1 million. But even "innovative but
testable hypotheses without preliminary data" could get as much as
$300,000. Proposals are due May 15.
and post-traumatic stress of troops returning home from war. And every
kind of therapy -- no matter how far outside the accepted medical form
-- is being considered. The Army just unveiled a $4 million program to
investigate everything from "spiritual ministry, transcendental
meditation, [and] yoga" to "bioenergies such as Qi gong, Reiki, [and]
distant healing" to mend the psyches of wounded troops. ...
The Defense Department "is dedicated to supporting evidence-based
approaches to medical treatment and wants to support the use of
alternative therapies if they are proven efficacious," notes a
recently-issued request for proposals.
But many of these treatments haven't been held up to much rigorous
scientific scrutiny before. So the Army is looking to hand out $4
million in "seedling grants" to "conduc[t] rigorous clinical studies"
into all sorts of "novel approaches." Projects "containing preliminary
data" will be eligible for up to $1 million. But even "innovative but
testable hypotheses without preliminary data" could get as much as
$300,000. Proposals are due May 15.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Traumatic Stress and Resiliency Resources drawn from Military Psychiatry
You can find a wealth of trauma-related resources through the website for the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress. Dr. Robert J. Ursano is the Director, and he is a crucial contributor to the military and civilian literature for trauma recovery.
As part of the Department of Psychiatry of our federal medical school, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), the Center was established in 1987 as a public private partnership of USUHS and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine.
One example of the PDF resources that you can find is the Stress Management Guidelines for Leaders.
As part of the Department of Psychiatry of our federal medical school, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), the Center was established in 1987 as a public private partnership of USUHS and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine.
One example of the PDF resources that you can find is the Stress Management Guidelines for Leaders.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
What is at stake?
Preventing trauma should be given much more weight in foreign policy decisions. Addressing trauma is also of increasing relevance. This video describes the uptick in veteran suicides.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and the Rationale underlying Somatic Therapies for Stress
Greetings readers. I am currently undergoing advanced training in Trauma Sensitive Yoga with a group at the Justice Resource Institute (http://www.traumacenter.org/). So I want to share with you how somatic therapies can critically complement standard verbal, cognitive therapies (“talk therapy”) for addressing traumatic stress.
Even if you don’t identify as being “traumatized,” consider that one important definition of traumatic stress is “stress that overwhelms our coping mechanisms for a period of time.” Most of us can relate to feeling overwhelmed temporarily.
Here is a way to get to know psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk's thinking behind treating trauma via somatic therapies. The first paper by van der Kolk (http://www.trauma-pages.com/a/vanderk4.php) is a classic in the field of Trauma and sets the stage for the importance of engaging the body, the physical self, in the context of treatment.
The second piece by Dr. van der Kolk (http://www.traumacenter.org/products/pdf_files/NYASF.pdf) is a very recent look at the neurobiology of trauma and also includes the first of its kind yoga study.
Even if you don’t identify as being “traumatized,” consider that one important definition of traumatic stress is “stress that overwhelms our coping mechanisms for a period of time.” Most of us can relate to feeling overwhelmed temporarily.
Here is a way to get to know psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk's thinking behind treating trauma via somatic therapies. The first paper by van der Kolk (http://www.trauma-pages.com/a/vanderk4.php) is a classic in the field of Trauma and sets the stage for the importance of engaging the body, the physical self, in the context of treatment.
The second piece by Dr. van der Kolk (http://www.traumacenter.org/products/pdf_files/NYASF.pdf) is a very recent look at the neurobiology of trauma and also includes the first of its kind yoga study.
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