PTSD RECOURSE OUTLINE                                           

“[L]et us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan…”

                                                                                                President Abraham Lincoln

                                                                                                2^nd Inaugural Address

• 1.5 million American troops have been deployed in support of the war effort
• 1/3 have served at least two tours in a combat zone; 70,000 have been deployed three times and 20,000 have been deployed at least 5 times
• 3,240 deployed in support of GWOT killed and 23,000 wounded
• ¼ returning service members returning with less visible psychological injuries
• 700,000 children in America have at least one parent deployed

APA 2/07 Preliminary Report

Special populations:

• Military culture in general
• Racial/ethnic minority personnel
• Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
• Female military personnel
• Younger veterans entering system

Special nature of USAR & NG 

• Citizen soldiers
• Return to life in civilian community as opposed to military base
• Lack of military community supports
• Lack of military community supports for families

Signature injuries

• American Civil War                     Soldier’s heart, gut wounds, amputees
• WW I                                            Shell shock, mustard gas
• WW II                                           Battle fatigue, nuclear fallout
• Korea                                             Battle fatigue, extreme cold
• Viet Nam                                       PTSD, agent orange
• OIF                                                PTSD, TBI, amputees

Deployment Stages: 
          

                 Pre-deployment 

• Anger and protest
• Emotional detachment
• Family stress
• Marital disagreements
• Work-up cycle
  
           Deployment 

• Emotional destabilization and disorganization
• Sadness, depression, disorientation, anxiety, loneliness
• Sleep disturbances
• Health complaints
• Financial problems
• Some find the midpoint of deployment as the time of greatest stress
• Fear for safety of deployed service member
  
            Return 

• Apprehension over redefined roles and power dynamics
  
        Post-Deployment 

• Honey moon period
• Resentment over loss of independence
• Insecurity about place in reconfigured system
• Service member may have difficulty disengaging from combat mission orientation
• Domestic violence
  
     Readiness for Redeployment 

• Keeping the “Battle Mind” edge

Rationale for sensory interventions:

While deployed and while in a traumatic environment different brain functions are utilized i.e. implicit/procedural memory functions and functions that are very much related to maintaining a survival mode as such, it is important to intervene at a level that is not focused on higher cortical verbal and intellectual activities.

Rationale for experiential techniques:

            Often, as a result of PTSD and TBI, individuals are not able to return to or

            Engage their executive functioning processes to carry out Activities of Daily

            Living.  Experiential activities will place individuals in challenging situations that

            will place demands on them in a setting that allows them to rehearse and practice

            those activities required in their everyday worlds.

The RECOURSE at Lilac Springs is dedicated to helping all individuals who have been traumatized.  Hopefully active and retired members in the Armed Services can come to the realization that they can continue to serve in the capacity of helping those who have life threatening diseases i.e. those who, also, live in a constant state of fear and/or anticipation of a return of a dreaded disease.  Many of whom have “cells of terror” circulating in their bodies and are under a constant threat of attack.