Bridges to Healing Seminar How to Minister to the Military and Lead Combat Trauma Spiritual Care Groups

Woodman Valley Chapel Colorado Springs, Colorado

April 30, 2011

Sponsored by:  Military Ministry and El Pomar

Yesterday, I attended the “Bridges to Healing Seminar and Workshops.”  As I arrived I was very impressed by the sheer number of people expected (as I was one of the first arrivals coming from Golden, CO).  The reception attendees were gracious and most helpful to all as they arrived.  I was also impressed by the number of organizations represented as people began to arrive.  I realized I was not unfamiliar with many who were in this group as I had seen many of them at the monthly Ministry Forum held on the Fort Carson base.  This monthly meeting is sponsored by the Military Ministry meeting administered and presented by the Fort Carson Chaplains office.  Chaplain Gibbs is the Chaplain in charge at Fort Carson and one of the first to arrive.  As it turns out he opened the event which was supposed to be opened by the base commander who was called away at the last moment.

The Woodman Valley Chapel entrance sign.

The Woodman Valley Chapel Worship Center building.

The Woodman Valley Chapel parking lot as it looks down on Colorado Springs.

The opening statement spoke volumes to my heart and the Coming Home Almost There (CHAT) mission.  Their opening seminar statement was:

 “Welcome to the Bridges to Healing Seminar.  You obviously already have an interest and care deeply about our military - thank you for being here.”  This on the stage screens - Behold, I am the Lord, God of all flesh, is there anything too difficult for me. - Jeremiah 32:27.  “From this seminar, you will appreciate the urgency and needs of our military today, realize existing ministries to be used as a Bridge to Healing and commit to action.”

A very emotional set of videos were presented.  Following was the first massive appearance of tears.  Then a trauma-experienced veteran and his wife spoke about the trials and struggles they went through as he experienced symptoms of PTSD, the subsequent alcohol consumption and the resulting spousal abuse.  They both detailed from their own perspectives the recovery and the support of a very loving spiritual couple who came to their rescue.  Again, there was not dry eye in the house and it took even the event moderator a while to recover without crying with his voice cracking as he tried to speak.  The group took a break and resumed with the morning portion of this seminar.

As the seminar continued they begin addressing urgency and needs of the military. To appreciate the urgency and needs of our military today you need to:

Understand the military culture, language, lifestyle and the military is a significant group of people in our midst.  The cause of urgency in the military involves the understanding of the strain of multiple deployments, unprecedented Guard and Reserve mobilization (52%) and a protracted war.

Understand the trauma of war includes Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and the Combat Trauma Spectrum.

Traumatic brain injury is a physical injury to the brain often caused by one or more concussive events.  Symptoms are at time indistinguishable from those of Post Traumatic Brain Disorder (PTSD) and further neurological testing is warranted for proper diagnosis.  Chronic or severe headaches occur with TBI.

Combat trauma spectrum is defined as a spectrum of behavior observed in those who have been exposed to a traumatic combat-related event which involves actual or threatened death or serious bodily injury to self or others.  This event may cause a range of reactions involving intense fear, panic, helplessness or horror.  It is manifested in physical behavioral, cognitive, emotional and spiritual symptoms, which if untreated can last a lifetime.

Combat trauma is a common response to an abnormal event.  The difference between the categories of the Combat trauma spectrum is based on the intensity and duration of symptoms.  Combat trauma symptoms are also often grouped or clustered into these three categories:

Intrusive Symptoms:  Memories and images of the event intrude into the mind, occurring suddenly without obvious cause and accompanied by intense emotions.  Often these memories are so vivid as to have sufferer believe they have returned to the scene and the traumatic event is reoccurring.

Avoidance Symptoms:  Avoiding events, people or circumstances which might produce memories of the traumatic event.  May also have feelings of numbness (having no emotions) and withdraw from others while not being able to express appropriate emotion or affection to loved ones.

Arousal Symptoms:  Hyper-vigilant; always on alert; jumpy; irritable; angry; concentration and memory problems; always on guard.

Secondary Trauma:  Defined as the natural consequent behavior and emotions resulting from knowing about the traumatizing event experienced by another.  The stress results from helping or wanting to help the traumatized or suffering person.  Every combat trauma sufferer affects up to (10) ten other people. 

There are four basic areas of need of our military and their families.  They are relationships (community); care and support (practical assistance); pastoral care (spiritual); education (life skills).  Practical assistance timing may include before, during and after deployment.  Pastoral care may include grief and loss counseling; healing for combat trauma; marriage counseling; addressing addiction and substance abuse.  Assisting with life skills education may include marriage, parenting enrichment; financial education and navigating available network of services available to the military.

How to find the military in need in our midst inside and outside the church.  Ask, invite, provide and go where they are!  Ask new members, visitors, and in prayer requests if they are military and in need.  Special invitations on Veterans’ Day; into support groups.  Outside the church – GO WHERE THEY ARE!  VFW, American Legion, homeless shelters.

The keys to relationships with the military and their families are:  Be persistent and consistent; an intention to look for opportunities to help; commit for the long haul.

The keys to communication:  Door openers (helpful to say):  Ask open-ended question.  State:  “I am so glad you are home!” “I have no idea how you feel.”  Door closers (good to avoid saying):  “Did you kill anyone?” “Aren’t you glad you are home?”  “I know how you feel?”

Closing of Morning Bridge to Healing Session:  Realize you have been strategically positioned in this community and divinely prepared to be a “Bridge to Healing.”   Building relationships requires you to be authentic and courageous.

The Bridges to Healing Workshops included “How to use the Combat Trauma Healing Manual in Spiritual Care Groups”, “How to use the When War Comes Home manual in Spiritual Care groups”, and “Combat Trauma – PTSD Counseling Workshop.”

I attended the “Combat Trauma – PTSD Counseling Workshop as presented by Dr. Chris Phillips, Psychologist. Dr. Chris Phillips works part-time at Haven Behavioral Health in Pueblo, CO.  This is a 28 bed inpatient facility.  He is a licensed psychologist specializing in anxiety, trauma, and medical life issues (pain management, cancer, sleep issues, TMJ, etc.).  He maintains a private practice as well. 

Following is the transcription of my notes and may not include all the material presented to this group as it was quite vast:

PTSD is a normal response to an abnormal event – Chronic means something is getting in the way of recovery.  PTSD sufferer gets protective about things that make them think about or re-live the trauma.  This is based on “I want to be safe.”  They can become hyper-vigilant and this can lead to exhaustion.  They can become hyper-aroused (increased startle response) causes avoidance. In this state they may drink, work, fight too much and often have multiple deployments.  Recovery requires learning how to detach the traumatic event(s) from normal living situations.  PTSD can trigger hormones that actually shut the brain down.  There is an old saying “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”  To rewire cognitions they need support. Be clear - Support is NOT treatment.  Treatment is provided by professionals and may be required to provide healing.

Drugs treats symptoms; they are not curative. Duration and intensity are components of PTSD.  Also, a possible component is prior history of abuse.  All can factor into PTSD.  

Neuro-plasticity means new thought.  Plasticity can work both ways.  PTSD can go away and come back.  It goes beyond numbing and PTSD sufferer may feel like they don’t have a soul.  With Cognitive Processing Therapy the PTSD sufferer can take the traumatic experience(s) and learn to release the emotions that accompanied the trauma event(s).  PTSD and TBI can appear similar.  PTSD and TBI do show great rates of recovery.  The brain is very resilient.

 

Chronic PTSD sufferers are very successful with avoidance.  Therapy would include prevention of avoidance/escape.  It can be similar sometimes to basic sports psychology – “you are just ramped up.”  If everyone is the bad guy something is getting in the way of effective functioning.  Traumatic event, in successful therapy, is remembered differently to preserve original beliefs and assumptions.

Chronic PTSD sufferers over accommodate.  Overall beliefs and assumptions about self and the world change too much following traumatic event and are no longer accurate.  Trust is a spectrum – some people do deserve trust.

Cognitive Processing Therapy: There are five areas at the crux of the matter: safety, intimacy, power/control, self-soothing and esteem (worth of others and myself).  

A loss involving a physical injury can cause complications to PTSD. The physically injured and PTSD sufferer need more compassion; their biggest problem is self-esteem issues; they don’t have the same power/controls.

My closing comments to the Bridges to Healing morning seminar group are: 

It was a wonderful event at the Woodman Valley Chapel hosted and the Military Ministry sponsored.  They served to establish the dire need of supporting the military through the ministerial community.

I must take some exception in a rather narrow definition of a religious community as a Christ-centered faith.  They made mention of the Jewish/Muslim community.  They did not seem to embrace what I consider the totality of any religious community.  Some apparent prejudice was displayed through some comments made against some specific religious faiths as questions were answered by members of the Question and Answer panel.

 

Further, it was with difficulty that I witnessed a male based review of military needs alluding only briefly to females in combat and their unique struggles.  The female soldiers issues include but are not limited to rape, single parenthood and a higher divorce rate than male soldiers.  What little concession was made occurred only as a brief nod by the panel when orally admonished by members of the audience for not addressing the female soldiers’ issues.