PTSD assistance: Fort Bliss program cited as model for Army

[Celebration]

http://www.ftleavenworthlamp.com/articles/2008/07/24/dod_news/dod5.txt

FORT BLISS, Texas - Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey visited Fort Bliss July 13 and said that an innovative program there to treat post-traumatic stress disorders ought to be replicated at other locations across the Army.

The "Restoration and Resilience Center" at Fort Bliss is a specialized treatment facility for Soldiers with PTSD who want to remain in the Army. The center is run by Dr. John Fortunato, a Benedictine monk, Vietnam veteran and clinical psychologist.

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So Fortunato decided the center would have to look like a lodge at a ski resort. The entrance to the facility is equipped with oversized leather, mission-style chairs, wood floors and the sound of trickling water from a cascading fountain that sits in the lobby has a calming effect. At the end of a hallway, is an Asian-looking room with background therapeutic sounds, called the meditation room.

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"In order to stay alive, their bodies have been hyper-aroused for so long, that they come back and cannot turn it off," he said. "Their body doesn't even remember how to relax again, and because of that they don't sleep and are irritable."

Therefore, service members have to learn how to relax again. And to acquire the relaxation mode again, Fortunato designed a therapeutic program, which includes massages, acupuncture, Tai Chi, yoga, Reiki, power walks and visits to the mall.

[skooooo]

1. I bet EMDR is part of it too.

[gblady]

2. great article

thank you for sharing