Page 269 - Total War on PTSD

recent study has found that Veterans prefer being treated by therapists with a military background, typically a Veteran (Johnson, Ganz, Berger, Ganguly, & Koritzky, 2018). It is assumed by Veterans seeking mental-health services that such individuals may have a better chance of understanding their patients’ military experiences and thus are more likely to assist in alleviating the Veterans’ loneliness rather than exacerbate it. Getting familiar with military culture may facilitate similar processes.
Alternative therapies are also being developed. For instance, acknowledging that Veterans’ bifurcation of society to the us and the them is the foundation of their isolation has given rise to various peer-support therapies wherein Veterans work together towards healing, once again establishing the comraderies they had in the military (Caddick, Phoenix, & Smith, 2015; Hundt, Robinson, Arney, Stanley, & Cully, 2015; Pfeiffer et al., 2012). It is recommended that Veterans locate such a peer-support program to be part of, so they have a safe haven wherein they can feel better understood. Similarly, a novel therapeutic approach entitled “I was There,” utilizes film-making workshops wherein Veterans team up to create a short film that will tell their story (Tuval-Mashiach, Patton, & Drebing, 2018). Participants do not only work together with those who understand them, but also get to give voice to their experience and have it appreciated by others, thus reducing their experiential isolation twofold. As one female Veteran who participated in the program attests:
It’s almost like, two recovering people. In a program, like, of addiction. Only one addict can know another addict. Only one alcoholic can understand another alcoholic. That’s how the program actually works. Cause if a regular person came and talked to them about their problem, they probably wouldn’t even listen to him, cause they don’t feel you relate. This is the same thing with PTSD. For me, this is my opinion. That if I’m talking to someone who understands how I’m feeling, it’s. It’s lighter. The load. It feels... it’s, I’m recovering at that moment. That I’m talking to someone who understands.
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