7/31/2019 Holistic treatments help Soldiers combat PTSD

1/210 MAY 2012

IN

FRONT

By JENNIFER MATTSON NCO Journal

For some Soldiers, the emotional scars o combat canbe just as overwhelming as the physical ones. Oen,Soldiers had only a choice between suppression or

medical discharge. But the Warrior Resilience Center atFort Bliss, exas, seeks to help Soldiers treat their post-traumatic stress emotionally and spiritually, and return asunctioning members to their units.

Sgt. Lance Bradord, a cavalry scout, deployed to Bagh-dad in 2006. He was on a battalion reconnaissance team

made up o small kill teams that stayed in Baghdad or vedays at a time.

His unit was hit by at least our IEDs and was shot atcountless times. Five months into his deployment, he wasshot; the bullet went through his arm, into his rib cage andout his back. He was medically evacuated rom the battle-eld and sent home to Fort Bliss or treatment. Te hardestpart about being wounded, Bradord said, was that soonaer his return, his wie le him.

I had no oundation to help me, he said. I had noneo my Soldiers to help me. My wie hit the door, and I wasin a hospital bed and I didnt know where my career was

going. Tats when it really hit me.His physical wounds merited the Purple Heart, but the

wounds no one could see were the ones he dealt with eveday, Bradord said.

I couldnt go to Wal-Mart unless it was 3 a.m. becauscouldnt be in large groups, Bradord said. I couldnt go the mall. I hadnt gone clothes shopping or a year becausI couldnt tolerate large groups. Te only large groups Icould tolerate were military.

Aer months o sleeping less than an hour a night,Bradord went to sick call to seek help.

Tey tossed pills at me, gave me a ier or a [GlobalWar on errorism] therapy group and sent me on my way

Bradord said. I didnt like taking the pills; I didnt evenlike taking the pain pills. But it was all I could do to bearthe pain. I took the sleeping pills or two days. Te rstday I took it, it put me in a coma and I slept through myalarm. I saved one pill or the weekend. Ten, I went to thGWO group.

While at the support group, Bradord met Dr. John Fotunato, who had just started the Restoration and ResilienCenter, the orerunner to todays Warrior Resilience Center. Fortunato thought Bradord might benet rom thealternative therapies the program provided and encour-aged him to apply.

[Bradord] not only ought through [the programhere] to get better, but he had some serious injuries andintensive physical therapy, said Dr. VickTomas, the current chie o the WarrioResilience Center. He could have easily[been medically discharged]; no onewould have ever questioned. He didntwant to. And thats why the programstarted, or people like him.

He went through hell to get back onthat horse and ride it, Tomas said.

Some Soldiers try to sel-medicate oravoid situations they think could trigger

their post-traumatic stress. But that onlyleads to not being able to live a normallie, Bradord said.

Holistic treatmentshelp NCOs battle PTSCenter's ocus is healing wounds that are more than skin deep

Lt. Col. Erica Clarkson, a physicaltherapist, adjusts needles on Staff Sgt.

Jennifer Ciglar during an acupuncture

treatment in January 2010 at CampVictory, Iraq. The holistic treatment is

similar to that offered by Fort Bliss

new Warrior Resilience Center to Sol-diers suffering from post-traumatic

stress.Photo by Sgt. LindSey bradford

7/31/2019 Holistic treatments help Soldiers combat PTSD

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NCOs have the bulk o the problems because theyhave to deal with all their Soldiers problems, Bradordsaid. Not to mention 90 percent o us are married, soweve got time away rom our wives because o work andtaking care o Soldiers. Were going to sit and bottle ev-erything up. Tats what I did, and it was a horrible idea.

When Bradord went through the resiliency centerprogram, he said he and ellow participants were able tosee dramatic changes. wo o the Soldiers who sufered

rom injuries during his deployment and who were withhim as they were medically evacuated have returned toactive duty and currently serve in Korea.

Tere are a lot o guys who are walking, breathingproo that it works, Bradord said. Its all what you putinto it. I anyone hates taking those pills, this is a muchbetter alternative.

Te program has changed since Bradord wentthrough it. With more Soldiers returning rom combatwith the crippling symptoms o PS, the program hasshortened to a our-week introductory course rom theyear-long course it was when Bradord went through inits rst year, 2007.

As the wars have changed and the Army has changed,our mission has changed, Tomas said. Originally ourmission was to take Soldiers who had experienced com-bat traumas and post-traumatic stress disorders that weresevere enough to where their careers were in jeopardy,and help those Soldiers get strong enough to return tothe ghting orce. Weve since changed, since there aresuch great numbers.

Soldiers in the program remain assigned to their cur-rent units. However, their duty station or our weeks isthe Warrior Resilience Center. From 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.,program participants experience a variety o alternative

treatments designed to give Soldiers tools they can rely onto treat the symptoms o PS.You can give them a lot o

tools in our weeks, but youcannot cure [PS] in ourweeks, Tomas said. But Iwatch some o them who lehere with those tools and theycome back in or therapy andare continuing to do better.

Tere are 14 similaracilities across the Army, andeach program is somewhat

diferent due to the local resources available and whatthe counselors there have ound most helpul. Te FortBliss center is the Armys premiere PS treatment acility,Tomas said.

Te goal is to expose them to a little bit o everythingso that, at the end o the our-week program, they can helpcome up with an aer-care program, Tomas said. So isomeone ound reiki tremendously helpul, but acupunc-ture wasnt perceived as being as helpul, then we special-ize when it comes to the aer-care program. Especially ortreatments, until youve actually experienced it, you dontknow i its going to be helpul or not.

Denney Barrus, a social worker with the Warrior Resil-ience Center at Fort Bliss, said that because Soldiers wontknow which treatments will be efective, program partici-pants agree to try all o the alternative treatments.

When Soldiers come here, they have individualtherapy twice a week, group therapy our times a week and

we have a whole slew o alternative treatment therapies,Barrus said.Te staf o 13 clinical

social workers, psychologists,reiki master teachers, licensedmassage therapists, an acu-puncturist, and a yoga, taichi and qigong instructor allwork together to help theseSoldiers get to a point wherethey can return to their unit.

Te Warrior ResilienceCenter keeps objective data

that shows its treatment methods work, Tomas said.We do objective outcome measures, and those have

shown good results, Barrus said. But to me, more impor-tantly, are the reports rom the Soldiers or their amiliesor their spouses who have said its so much better. Its verycommon to hear Soldiers say, Tis program saved my lie.

Aer Bradord graduated rom the program, he movedto Fort Hood, exas, and deployed to Iraq or a third time.He continues to serve, and says he is now better equippedto help his Soldiers.

Tere is no cure or PSD, Bradord said. Tere arejust control methods so you can live with it.

Alternative therapies

The four-week program at the Warrior Resilience Center at Fort

Bliss, Texas, uses the following alternative therapies to give Sol-

diers tools they can use to help combat post-traumatic stress:

yOgA exercises ocus on breathing and relaxation, allowing Sol-

diers time to mentally ocus and relax.

TAI CHIand its characteristic slow martial-art movements helpSoldiers combat stress and nd peace.

QIgONg combines rhythmic breathing with fuid movements to

teach Soldiers how to control their reactions to stress.

REIKI seeks to reduce stress through the laying on o hands.

DEEP-TISSUE MASSAgEallows Soldiers to realign and relax.

ACUPUNCTUREuses needles applied to specic points to allow

Soldiers to relax and rebalance.

MEDITATIONenables Soldiers to ocus and calm their minds.

NEURO-FEEDBACKlooks at a Soldiers thought process and how

it could trigger PTS.

BIO-FEEDBACKlooks at biorhythms heart rate, eye movement,

etc. and allows Soldiers to understand their bodies reactions.

There are a lot of guys whoare walking, breathing proof that

it works. If anyone hates taking

those pills, this is a much

better alternative. SgT. LANCE BRADFORD