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Living the Survivor Life: 11 Years Out

A photo of David Grant in a dark blue t-shirt and his wife in a heather rose t-shirt in front of tall bamboo and palm trees

My early year look-backs were filled with profound sadness, and a sense of loss so overwhelming that I felt smothered by it. Thankfully, that is no longer the case. It’s been long enough that I’ve all but forgotten who I was before my brain injury; that person no longer exists. The very fact that I’m no longer bothered by this is a sure sign that my soul is growing. 

Marty Yura: What Research and Experiential Evidence Say About the Efficacy of Yoga for PTSD

Man doing yoga warrior pose in a sunlit room.

There may not be definitive quantitative data to support the efficacy of yoga for military members, especially those with PTSD, but there is a lot of research and experiential evidence that shows that yoga can make a significant difference in the healing process. Yoga helps to calm the central nervous system, so after even practicing a short time, people with PTSD may start to sleep better, feel less trauma-related physical pain, and experience a greater sense of quietude.

Marty Yura: The Healing Power of Group Yoga

Though everybody is dealing with their own mind and body during a yoga class, there is something powerful about practicing in a group. When teaching veterans with PTSD in the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program, Mr. Yura brings a holistic approach to his teaching. Focusing less on traditional poses and more on somatics — a way of re-educating the way our brain senses and moves the muscles — he helps the group develop a series of movements from which they can readily feel the benefits and use post-program to contribute to their own well-being.

Marty Yura: The Approach to Teaching Yoga to Veterans with PTSD

For veterans in the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program, Marty Yura teaches yoga with a focus on heightening the awareness of what a person is feeling in their body. With a focus on somatics — a way of re-educating the way our brain senses and moves the muscles — instead of traditional poses, he helps his students loosen their connective tissue, open neural pathways for greater energy flow to the body, and enhance their awareness of what they are feeling inside their bodies. "In some ways, this is a process of unlearning habituated movements that don't contribute to their health," he says.

Marty Yura: Yoga Is an Integral Part of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program

Since it's inception, yoga has been an integral part of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program. During the intensive two-week program, veterans take one hour of yoga three times a week where they learn to release physical and emotional pain. Mr. Yura says that although some students are more engaged than others, it is rewarding for him to see the extent of people's responses to the practice, including embracing what they have learned to use post-program like specific movements for lower back release, breathing techniques, and strategies for calming the nervous system during a reactive situation.

Ask the Expert - Brian Klassen, PhD: Finding the Right Therapist Can Be Crucial for Treating PTSD

What Should Couples Expect from Counseling After a Brain Injury?

I keep hearing that I need cognitive behavioral therapy—talk therapy— to treat my symptoms of PTSD like hyper-arousal, depression, avoiding life, and being irritable all the time with my friends and family. Frankly, I don’t want to talk to someone for weeks and months. My wife keeps pressuring me, but the thought of therapy makes me feel weaker than I already am. Why do I feel this way? I’m not sure what to do. Dr. Klassen answers your questions about mental health treatment.

Ask the Expert - Brian Klassen, PhD: What Are the Top Reasons People in the Military Develop PTSD?

What are the primary reason veterans and service members develop PTSD? Dr. Klassen, an expert on mental health issues and treatment, says that, to date, there is no one concrete formula outlining the primary reasons why people develop PTSD, and there may never be. PTSD is a complex condition and affects each person differently based on many factors such as an individual’s genetics, early-life experiences, traumas in combat, culture, and coping mechanisms among others.

Ask the Expert, Brian Klassen, PhD: Is There a Military/Civilian Gap and How Can We Bridge This Gap?

Is there still a military/civilian gap, and why does it seem to get bigger? What can we do about it? Dr. Klassen, an expert on mental health issues and treatment, talks about the fact that unlike generations ago when far more people—from all walks of life—served in the military, it being a sort of rite of passage with a shared mission, fewer people in the general population serve today. This divide can lead to a sense of isolation and not feeling understood or respected in the military communities. That said, there are currently more and more organizations focusing on bridging the military/civilian gap.

Ask the Expert, Brian Klassen, PhD: My Spouse Suffers from PTSD. What Can I Do?

What is the Difference Between Depression and Situational Sadness?

My wife was a medic in Afghanistan and is suffering from PTSD, including debilitating nightmares. She does not want to share her experiences with me. She needs therapy but had an unsuccessful experience with at the VA, and other therapists have long waiting lists. I’m not sure how much longer she can hold on. How can I help her? In this video, Dr. Klassen, an expert on mental health issues and treatment, shares a list of resources for mental health therapy and discusses the challenges of moral injury.

Brian Klassen, PhD: Military Sexual Trauma—Challenges and Effective Treatments

Photo of a uniformed service member with his head in his hands and the outstretched hand of another service member on his shoulder

Providers in the Road Home Program got involved with treating men and women who have suffered military sexual trauma out of necessity as the need was enormous. In the two-week intensive program, survivors of MST receive many effective treatments, in particular cognitive processing therapy where they can finally open up about their experiences in a safe place and redirect blame away from themselves. And being in a cohort of other MST survivors makes this program unique and incredibly effective.

Brian Klassen, PhD: Advantages of Group Therapy for Veterans and Service Members

Caregiving and Brain Injury: Importance of Support

One of the most powerful aspects of the two-week immersive Road Home program is group therapy for veterans and service members. Along with the help of clinicians like Dr. Klassen these sessions, vets and service members in these sessions can share their experiences, questions, and perspectives in a safe space. Powerful transformations and healing can occur when one veteran, for example, can shed light on the experience of another, helping that individual better understand a trauma and change the narrative.

Brian Klassen, PhD: Signs of Improvement Through Therapy for PTSD

Welcome to My Caregiving Blog

During Road Home's two-week immersive program, clinicians see great signs of improvement in the veterans and service members they treat. These signs might include fewer nightmares, better sleep, decreased anger or irritability. They might also be more concrete like a date night with a spouse, a trip to a museum, an afternoon in the park—something an individual with PTSD may not have done in years.

Robert Shulman, MD: Treating Veterans for PTSD, TBI, and Moral Injury

Professional headshot of Dr. Robert Shulman smiling at the camera, wearing a white doctor's coat, with a tall building in the background

 

Creating individualized treatment plans for veterans is crucial as they may be experiencing symptoms from PTSD, TBI or other concussive injuries as well as moral injury. Often, soldiers enter a war in their late teens or early 20s when their brain has not yet reached full maturation. Providers must consider all of a veteran’s physical and psychological factors when tailoring treatment strategies.

Brian Klassen, PhD: Road Home Program Capitalizes on Team Unity Mentality of Veterans

Dr. Brian Klassen in a light but button down shirt in front of an out-of-focus green background

For many veterans and service members returning from deployment, not having their "team," their battle buddies around is very difficult. Everything seems to be about the individual. Capitalizing on this team unity mentality, providers at the Road Home Program understand that more healing will happen when people are working on individualized therapies as well as group therapies and activities. Once again, they have each other's backs.

Ross Zafonte, DO: Treatments at the Home Base Program Individualized, Not Cookie Cutter

Headshot of Dr. Ross D. Zafonte

 

The Home Base program, which includes comprehensive assessments and a two-week immersion into therapies and treatments for TBI, PTSD, and other conditions, is created anew for each veteran or service member who joins. Whether engaging in physical or cognitive therapeutic interventions, learning how better to communicate with family and friends, or delving into art therapies, each individual becomes part of a strong and supportive community of people who understand their experiences, though everyone’s experiences and issues are unique and treated as such.