• Adults
• Couples
• Families
• Adolescents and The Transition to Adulthood
• Veterans and their Families
• Individuals or Families Coping with Chronic Illness or Disability
• Persons Interested in the Intensive Process of Depth Therapy

Psychotherapy for Veterans and their Families

The New England Journal of Medicine reported that 16% (one in eight) of veterans returning from the war in Iraq suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Many endure this experience alone, traumatized by their combat experiences, but reticent to seek the support they need, fearful their symptoms will be construed as weakness, rather than the effects of the profound psychological injuries they sustained as soldiers.

The effects of war, violence and trauma can be devastating, altering a person¬s basic sense of self, their capacity for closeness with others, as well as their ability to re-engage in even once pleasurable aspects of their lives with the eagerness or confidence they once had.

Even with the support of friends and family, they may have difficulties adjusting to their civilian lives, grieving the loss of their comrades, or preoccupied with the war or fantasies of re-enlistment. With their combat experience as a point of reference, their civilian lives may no longer feel meaningful. They may be physically present, but psychically at war é bombarded by the intrusion of traumatic memories, feelings of remorse, guilt or shame or fears of impending threat or violence. They may be easily startled, frustrated and angered.

The affects of trauma can be profound ¥ but with practical, psychological and social support, veterans can begin to recover from the overwhelming impact of war on their lives.

Psychotherapy, combined with other services, can often help with this process, especially by providing veterans with an opportunity to talk more openly about their combat experiences -- often one of the most crucial steps in the preliminary process of integration and recuperation.

If you are a veteran, psychotherapy can also help you:

• Understand the psychological injuries you have experienced
• Recognize and manage the symptoms of post-traumatic stress associated with these injuries
• Develop strategies for restoring a greater sense of safety in your life
• Cope with responses to traumatic stimuli, intrusive memories or other reactions to acute stress
• Identify and develop practices or rituals that support your well-being, including in renewing closeness with your family and friends
• Grieve the death of comrades or other losses, including the loss of your life prior to deployment
• Cope with feelings of remorse or guilt evoked by memories of deaths you may have witnessed or regret
• Develop new cognitive strategies for understanding your deployment experience
• Find new sources of meaning in your life and your military experience
• Begin to communicate more openly with your family
• Identify, develop and implement plans to resolve post-deployment problems
• Find additional source of psycho-social support for the mental, emotional, spiritual and interpersonal challenges faced by veterans and families before, during and after deployment.