Dear Concerned Veteran,
I’m reaching out with a powerful opportunity to support veterans like us through The Headstrong Project, a nonprofit providing confidential, stigma-free, and no-cost PTSD treatment to veterans, service members, and their families. Their mission is to help clients “Triumph Over Trauma” with effective, trauma-based mental health care. I’ve been in treatment with one of their providers for ten weeks and can personally attest to the transformative impact of their services. Headstrong’s thirty free therapy sessions and their commitment to vets gives me hope and this hope keeps me going.
During my first ten weeks I collaborated with my provider, using the app from the App Store, titled CPT coach. This app is approved by the veteran’s administration and consists of four parts. The first part is the practice plan, which keeps track of the activities that you work on each week, next are the worksheets and stuck points logs that are stored on the app. Finally, it is your progress that tracks your progress to see how things are going over the course of treatment. Using this app, the therapist provides guidance in each area, helps you work through each area, and the stuck points are especially helpful. The following are a few examples of stuck points that I need to work through. It is difficult for me to write about Vietnam because it tends to bring me back into the situations. One of my more haunting stuck points is (I am responsible for the soldiers’ suicide) that I helped a terribly maimed soldier kill himself and still carry that guilt. Guilt is probably one of the biggest stuck points for many soldiers. Another stuck point (“In helping the enemy, I put future service members in danger”) and example of this guilt, for me was providing aid and comfort to an enemy soldier who had a through and through gunshot wound that I treated. After each stuck point you’re asked how believable the experience was. You rate it. Then you select your emotions; how do thoughts about this make you feel: angry, scared, sad, powerful, happy, embarrassed, guilty, and frustrated. You can also add any of your own different feelings. All of these different exercises help you deal with your trauma.
As an 81-year-old Vietnam veteran, I served three tours from 1964–65 aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard (CVA-31). After returning, I trained as a hospital corpsman in San Diego and an operating room technician at Oak Knoll Hospital, Oakland. During this training, I saw the results of combat, and it was ugly. Returning to Vietnam, I served with the 1st Marine Corps, 1st Medical Battalion in Vietnam from 1967–69. Now, I dedicate my time to writing. My first book, available on Amazon, explores a near-death experience and the mathematical insights it revealed. I’m currently working on a book about my Vietnam experiences. I am committed to donating 25% of my profits from the sale of my books to The Headstrong Project in gratitude for their support. I know firsthand the weight of combat and the healing that comes from this kind of care. Like many Veterans, suicide is a real concern, and this program can help prevent it.
You can make a difference by sharing this message with your friends, email list, and contacts. Together, we can help more veterans access this life changing mental health care. The link below will take you to my book.
Thank you for your support,
PS, Another veteran’s testimonial:
