THE PROBLEM/CRITICAL NEED IN OUR COMMUNITY
From our research and interactions with thousands of Veterans and their family members over the years, we can make one statement with complete certainty:
Unless our returning Veterans can learn ways to de-compress from war and deployment and to lower their extreme symptoms of combat related stress, the anxiety, depression and self absorbed isolation they experience can last a lifetime. Consequently, both Veterans and their families will continue to suffer greatly and far too many will fall between the cracks of our society or will not survive the trials of homecoming.
The purpose of The Warrior Transition Project is to explore programs and resources that help Veterans de-escalate from war fighting experiences without losing the qualities and awareness that have kept them alive in a combat environment. The Warrior Transition Project is the result of extensive research by the founder, board members and volunteers of Veterans and Families.
Our mission is to identify programs, services, technologies and processes that help transitioning Veterans through the trials of homecoming and back into family life, advanced education and employment.
11-23-2007 KCRA Channel 3 Television Interview
11-13-2007 20 minute interview with Tom Mailey of the Pa and Tom Show on KNCI
KPHO Channel 5 TV in Phoenix Interviews Iraq Vet Benefiting From This Technology
In the coming months and years, The Warrior Transition Project will be demonstrating and sponsoring a host of existing and newly discovered processes and technologies that help to reduce the symptoms of combat related stress injuries and disorders such as:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Intrusive Thoughts That Create Stress, Anxiety, Anger & Aggression
In addition to traditional counseling, mental health methods and practices, we are committed to collaborating and supporting emerging technologies and alternative healing methods that are in need of exposure, attention and support.
The unfortunate facts:
One in three veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from significant to severe stress, anxiety and or trauma, yet close to 60% of them do not seek help, typically for one or all of the following reasons:
- Fear of being stigmatized by peers and superiors.
- Fear of having documentation in their medical records that could prevent future advancement or civilian employment opportunities.
- The personal pride in ones self reliance that is ingrained from military training can imbed an aversion to asking for help.
- A discomfort or aversion to counseling and to sharing or reliving difficult experiences, especially if the counselor is a non-Veteran or non-Combat Veteran.
The Veterans Administration and other government resources are creating new programs and resources that are making great improvements to helping our returning military but are admittedly at their capacity in treating veterans. Simply stated, they are unprepared and overstretched.
A report entitled, “An Achievable Vision”, released in June of 2007 by the department of defense task force on mental health concludes,
“The Military Health System lacks the fiscal resources and fully trained personnel to fulfill its mission to support psychological health in peacetime or fulfill the enhanced requirements imposed during times of conflict. The mission of caring for psychological health has fundamentally changed and the current system must be restructured to reflect these changes. This requires acknowledgement of new fiscal and personnel requirements necessary to meet current and future demands for a full spectrum of services including: resilience-building, assessment, prevention, early intervention, and provision of an easily-accessible continuum of treatment for psychological health for service members and their families in Active and Reserve components.”
After this report was released, the military announced it would develop a plan to hire hundreds of psychiatrists and mental health workers to help returning vets and their families. This will take a great deal of time to orchestrate. Meanwhile, there remains a significant and spiraling gap between the war veterans suffering from PTSD who receive effective and timely help and those who do not.
A State of the Art Solution for Returning Veterans
After four years of meticulous research, Veterans and Families found a ground-breaking solution called Brain State Conditioning tm. Developed by an American Company, Brain State Technologies, Brain State Conditioning is an advanced neuro-training (brain training) system based on the science of neurofeedback, that balances and smoothes neuro-pathways (called neuronets) that form in the brain during exposure to trauma. It has had an 85% success rate in significantly reducing and/or completely eliminating the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, addiction and depression for more than four thousand people in less than three years. Robert Scaer, M.D., noted author, leading neurologist, and Brain State Technologies Clinical Advisor, explains what happens in the brain during traumatic events. If the brain and body have been conditioned to react to life threats, the brain develops neuronets that begin to perceive threats in situations where none exist. This condition creates “hyper vigilance” or “hyper paranoia” and is a very necessary state of mind when in a combat environment. The brain does this for its' own survival, because this is the brain’s main function – survival of the organism. While counseling and talk therapy can be of some help - it often does not go all the way, and it takes an exceptionally long time, years and decades, for healing to take hold or become permanent. Moreover, many veterans are reluctant to seek counseling for fear of detrimental information being placed in their medical files that could later be used to deny them benefits or promotions.
Brain State Conditioning tm is not only extremely effective, it is fast and does not require talking or self disclosure. It is an appropriate technology for the returning Iraq and Afghanistan younger generation of today – all born in a digital age. There have been enormous neuroscientific discoveries in the past decade, and science has known for some time that post traumatic stress is not a psychological problem - it is a brain imbalance that impacts the body. This is why Brain State Conditioning tm is so effective. It goes to the root of the problem and helps the brain to train itself back to a balanced harmonized state resulting in permanent relief.
The Veterans and Families Warrior Transition Project will demonstrate the success of this advanced healing technology by providing it at no cost to four hundred veterans in the greater Sacramento region who are suffering from combat related stress and PTSD. The purposes of demonstrating the effectiveness of this technology are 1) to help 400 veterans now, and 2) to present veteran-specific results to the government to get their attention and commitment to a new and viable solution for current and future veterans.
"I served two tours as a Squad Leader and combat infantryman in Afghanistan and was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder upon returning home. After two years of intensive group and individual counseling, I was still experiencing many symptoms of the disorder; mainly lack of sleep, irritability and a high level of anxiety. After training with Brain State Conditioning I am now sleeping better than I ever have, and I am happy to say that my irritability/anger has decreased significantly. The anxiety I previously experienced is now in my control, meaning that I understand my own frustrations and can take effective measures to resolve issues, minimizing stress and anxiety. The best part of this technology is that I never had to mention a thing about my combat experiences as this is not a not a “talk therapy” solution. I am currently taking a full course load at Syracuse University and maintaining my family life with a great deal of enjoyment and ease. I am truly thankful to this project for all the relief this training has brought to me and my family. Thanks Again"
SGT. DF, OEF Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient
U.S. ARMY 10th MTN. DIV
We believe Brain State Conditioning tm can have a greater and more efficient impact in addressing what the report calls, “the two signature injuries of the current conflict; post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.”
A few notable distinctions about Brain State Conditioning that appeal to Veterans are:
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Requires no “talk” therapy or disclosure of personal or traumatic events
- Expedient: 15-20 Sessions within a short time frame (10 - 15 days)
- Reduction and in many cases, elimination of symptoms such as intrusive thoughts, hypervigilance and excessive anger
- Allows for deeper and more restorative sleep
- Improved concentration and focus
- Can reduce or even eliminate addictions to drugs, alcohol and smoking
We also believe that brain state conditioning is an appropriate solution for military personnel who shun counseling or ‘talk therapy’ for fear of reprisals and having detrimental information placed in their medical files.
Our goal is to answer the following two questions: 1) how well have we done to alleviate their symptoms? and 2) how well have we done to alleviate their symptoms 3 months after training? From the significant and growing evidence of Brain State Conditioning tm, we are hopeful about the results, and have a “next step” strategy for expanding the awareness and access to this technology across the U.S.
For more information call 916-422-5005 or email: johnhenry@veteransandfamilies.org
NOTE: Participants must not consume drugs or alcholol during their partipation. Each session last approximately 1 hour 45 minutes and requires 15-20 sessions in a two to three week period.
