Healing Combat Trauma

Vietnam Veteran Turns to Acupuncture, Qi Gong and Yoga for Relief from PTSD

We've been discussing various forms of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, or "CAM" for short, which seem to have potential therapeutic usefulnessness for treating PTSD.  Here's a mention in a recent article in the Salt Lake Tribune of March 14, 2008, of other Eastern methods, including the energetic medicine, "Qi Gong," which appear to have brought some relief to one Vietnam war-era nurse.  From an article by Matthew D. LaPlante:

Mary Jane Shipley is a 62-year-old former trauma nurse who was stationed at a mobile Army hospital in Vung Tau, Vietnam. 

Shipley's "eyes well with tears," LaPlante writes, at the recollection of the young men she watched die there, burnt and broken and missing pieces of their bodies as they faded away." 

He continues, "Shipley says she knew almost immediately after returning home there was something wrong with her. In part, it was the helicopters. She could hear them, even smell them, ferrying patients to the Salt Lake City hospital where she worked - sometimes minutes before any of her associates could."

Her other symptoms are hallmarks of PTSD: "She had trouble relating to other people. She was restless. She was constantly afraid. Perhaps to the eyes of today's doctors and nurses, Shipley's illness would have been obvious. But back then, no one reached out."

In Shipley's case, according to LaPlante, "It took her 30 years to realize she wasn't alone. Now in treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, the Western-trained nurse has found Eastern therapies to be most helpful. She practices yoga and qigong. And at least twice a week, she undergoes acupuncture. "It took me so long to figure out what works for me," Shipley laments, "and I still have so much trouble."

In Honor of Veterans Day: Community Acupuncture Clinics for Veterans

In honor of Veterans Day, Acupuncture without Borders is holding community acupuncture clinics for veterans in the following cities:

Newark, CA;

West Los Angeles, CA;

Stamford, CT;

Ft. Lauderdale, FL;

St. Augustine, FL;

St. Petersburg, FL;

Tamarac, FL;

Boston, MA;

Cambridge, MA;

Albuquerque, NM;

Santa Fe, NM;

Carson City, NV;

New York, NY;

Glenside, PA;

McLean, VA;

Longview, WA;

Seattle, WA; and

Racine, WI.

For more information on these clinics, click here.  NOTE: Do not assume that they are each being held on Veterans Day itself.  Most are held on a day either before or after, so check the schedule first several days in advance by clicking the aforementioned link.

Editor's note: For more on why acupuncture might be a suitable or interesting treatment modality for combat trauma and/or PTSD, click here.

Acupuncture Without Borders: Treating Veterans, Addressing Trauma

An organization called "Acupuncturists without Borders," (after the organization of doctors called Medicins Sans Frontiers) has been treating veterans and their particular concerns regarding combat trauma and PTSD.  Says one veteran:

“I served two tours of combat in Vietnam. I’m 100% disabled because of PTSD. When I first started coming to the AWB clinic in Albuquerque, I had spent years suffering from high anxiety. I believe that because of the acupuncture I have become calmer and my anxiety has drastically come down. I don’t want the new vets to suffer for years like I did. Acupuncture is helping me get my life back.” -- Raul Rojas

Richard H. Thompson, a four star general (retired), adds, "I have participated and believe it can help. I fully support the efforts of this organization."

According to Acupuncture without Borders, veterans acupuncture clinics are currently open in the following cities: Fort Myers, Florida; Warm Mineral Springs, Florida; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Maine; Framingham, Massachusetts; Grants Pass, Oregon; Portland, Oregon; Madison, Wisconsin; Portland, Maine; Portland, Oregon; Rochester, New York; Rockland, Maine; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Pojoaque (Santa Fe area), New Mexico; Times Square, New York City, New York; and Stevens Point, Wisconsin; with future acupuncture clinics for veterans pending in Arlington, Massachusetts; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Ithaca, New York; New York City, New York; Charlotte, North Carolina; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and others.

For a list of the currently operating veterans acupuncture clinics, click here.

If you're an acupuncturist who wants to become involved, there are future trainings scheduled in Albuquerque, Los Angeles and Orlando, Florida, in the coming months.  Click here for a list of the trainings.

For a link to the organization itself, click here.

"Yoga for the Nervous System: Healing Anxiety, Insomnia and PTSD"

The above title -- promising, no?! let's hope it also delivers -- is the name of a "weekend intensive" class being given in mid-November at the famous Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in the Berkshires (Western Massachusetts, close to the New York border.)  Information about the class is linked here.

(For more links to blog posts where we've talked about yoga and PTSD, click here. For more about the larger topic of mind-body medicine, which includes yoga, click here. For more on a yet still more comprehensive topic, PTSD and Complementary and Alternative Medicine, which includes mind-body medicine, click here.)

According to the Kripalu Center's brochure:

"Unlock the power of your mind-body network to relax your physical body, calm your mind, and quiet your nervous system.  Conditions such as anxiety, insomnia and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involve hyperarousal of the nervous system along with the mental, emotional and physical [aspects of our] bodies.  If this activation becomes chronic, the neuro-emotional patterns that result can compromise your physical health, emotional well-being, and creative potential.

Fortunately, the neural pathways to relaxation and calm exist in each one of us.  Those pathways simply need to be discovered and activated repeatedly to alter the state of the nervous system.

This transformative weekend intensive will include:

• Elemental Yoga, a transformative, therapeutic, alignment-based, slow vinyasa practice;
• Meditation;
• Restorative yoga; and
• Pranayama (breathing) exercises designed to balance the nervous system and emotional [aspects of the] body;

Psychologist and yoga therapist Bo Forbes will draw from her extensive experience in clinical psychology and mind-body therapeutics to help you learn to activate the neural pathway[s] to relaxation and catalyze the emergence of your extraordinary inner potential.

About Bo Forbes:
Bo Forbes, PsyD, E-RYT500, is a leading clinical psychologist, yoga teacher, and yoga therapist in the Boston area.  She is the founder of Elemental Yoga, director of the Center for Integrative Yoga Therapeutics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a contributing writer for Yoga Journal and Body & Soul magazines. 

(There's also an interesting interview with Bo Forbes on the topic of "Narrowing the Gap between Insight and Change: Yoga, Psychotherapy and the Body," linked here.

NOTE: The class says it is for those with "some yoga experience" as a pre-requisite.

Editor's note: For general yoga instructional videos, or yoga for stress videos, see thefollowing, mentioned in the sidebar (column to the left): Gaiam: Yoga For Beginners; Gaiam: Yoga for Stress Relief (With The Dalai Lama); Gaiam: AM/PM Yoga For Beginners (with The Dalai Lama & 10 Routines); and Yoga Journal: Yoga Journal's Yoga for Stress With Dr. Baxter Bell.

Getting Stuck to Get Unstuck: Army Studies Acupuncture for PTSD

An article from March 6, 2008 talks about the "Army PTSD Study on Track to Present Findings This Year."

Findings from a study on the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for PTSD among military personnel may be reported later this year, according to research officials at the US Army’s prestigious Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, DC.

According to the government web site www.clinicaltrials.gov initial report on the study, untreated PTSD “leads to decreased force readiness and increased health care utilization. Yet, service members with the disorder may be resistant to traditional treatments or find them undesirable because of side-effects, stigma, and long-term commitment.

“Acupuncture, which has few known side effects, holds promise as an effective treatment option for PTSD. Acupuncture has been shown to improve well-being and has been successfully used to treat stress, anxiety and pain conditions.”

Col. Charles C. Engel , principal investigator of the project, reports that data collection and primary statistical analysis have been completed and secondary analysis is currently underway. He says that the project intends to report data at upcoming professional conferences. These include the Force Health Protection conference in Albuquerque and the International Society for Trauma Stress Studies (ISTSS) in Chicago.

According to the web site, the project was intended to enroll up to 75 subjects, all active duty personnel. Researchers were to gauge the subjects’ PTSD status and response to treatment with the PTSD Checklist during a 12-week, randomized, waitlist-controlled trial. Participants were to receive an eight-session course of acupuncture treatment, and were to be evaluated throughout the study by way of clinical assessments and an independent assessing acupuncturist.

According to the study staff, all subjects were to receive a standardized protocol, based on Chinese medicine principles, for “clearing and calming” during the first four treatment sessions. During the fifth through eighth sessions, individualized treatments were to be given according to Chinese medicine diagnosis. All acupuncture services were to be performed by licensed acupuncturists who were graduates of the TAI Sophia Institute located in nearby Laurel, Maryland.

Marjorie Shovlin, a licensed acupuncturist in Washington, DC, was one of the acupuncturists providing treatment during the 18-month study period. She gave a presentation on the study methods and goals at the 18th annual NADA conference in May of last year.

Couples Massage: Sensual Seduction or Stress Reduction? You Decide

We mentioned aromatherapy or making "potions" or blends of essential oils the other day -- not that horrid fakey stuff that's sold in the supermarket, or the dead stinkpots of "potpourri," looking like what's left over after someone dredges a pond, boiling away on somebody's stove (yuck...) -- the REAL STUFF, which is tremendously lovely to experience. 

Essential oil blends can be amazing to smell, and reputedly have some therapeutic properties, especially for stress reduction -- but imagine how great they could be if you could combine them with a lovely, tender massage?  Giver or recipient: it's hard to say who has the better time.  And if you switch off, both get to enjoy.

When it comes to aromatherapy, Valerie Cooksley, who we talked about here, is the recognized expert.  She has a few great recipes "for lovers" in her book, but here's one that's specifically for massage. 

Says Valerie, "Here is a very sensual massage oil designed for the whole body (2% dilution). I suggest warming the oil in a hot water bath prior to application to increase absorption.  There is enough here for two bodies, so decide who will go first.  Review the helpful tips for aromatherapy massage [in her book]...If this oil appears too strongly scented, simply add more vegetable oil (the sweet almond or the safflower) to dilute it:

4 Tbsp. sweet almond or safflower oil

1/2 tsp. Evening primrose oil (optional)

1/2 tsp. carrot seed oil (optional)

12 drops Sandalwood essential oil

6  drops Ylang Ylang essential oil

4 drops Clary Sage essential oil

2 drops Rose oil (for dark hair and skin) or

2 drops Neroli oil (for light hair and skin).

Directions, according to Valerie: Mix the essential oils with warm safflower or sweet almond oil in a shallow dish.  Apply to the body in small amounts using a comfortable pressure and working toward the heart.  Avoid the face  and genital area.

Her book also includes several bath recipes with "aphrodisiac qualities," and a very special inhalation recipe. (For the uninitiated, essential oil blends, depending on their specific properties, can be appropriate for sniffing, dabbing on the skin, adding to a bath, adding to a carrier (lotion or oil), etc., but usually each blend -- because of its constituent parts -- is suitable for one, not a variety of those uses.  Hence why it pays to learn more about this topic, and picking up a book like one of many Valerie has written is just the way to go.)

Editor's note: If you don't know how to give a really great massage, pick up a book, watch a DVD, or take an adult education class in your area.  The essentials oils are typically available (Aura Cacia is a good and reputable brand) from various decent health food stores (Whole Foods, Wild Oats, etc.) plus online at Amazon.com and at Frontier Organics, among others.  Image is by German photographer Thomas Wanhoff.

Study Shows Mind-Body Medicine Works on PTSD

(Just what we've been talking about, and who we've just been talking about as well.  Heh.  Love that.  So confirming...)

Read down and see how therapeutic this would be for people in rural communities, with little or no access to the VA, who are in therapy or not, for DIY types and those who prefer to access healthcare through a practitioner of one kind or another.  Just wonderful... and we knew it all along :-)

---

The Washington, DC based Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM) announced today the publication of a landmark study on the use of its comprehensive, non-drug model to treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in war traumatized children. The study, “Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Post-War Kosovar Adolescents Using Mind-Body Skills Groups: A Randomized Controlled Trial,” which was published today online in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry is the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) ever of any intervention with war traumatized children. It is also the first RCT of a successful, comprehensive mind-body approach with any traumatized population.

The study demonstrates that the Center’s groundbreaking model can be used to produce highly significant and lasting changes in levels of stress, flashbacks, nightmares, and symptoms of withdrawal and numbing in highly traumatized children – those who lived in an area of Kosovo where in 1999 90% of the homes were burned and bombed and 20% of the children lost one or both parents.

 The CMBM approach includes self-expression and mind-body techniques and was offered to these children over 12 sessions in an educational, supportive small group setting. Eighty-two high school students in Kosovo participated in the study. The program was conducted by teachers and included meditation, guided imagery, breathing techniques, and biofeedback as well as self-expression through words, drawings, and movement. All the students met the criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which was measured using the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. Following the program, the number of students having symptoms indicating PTSD was significantly reduced from 100% to 18%. The reduction in symptoms was maintained at a 3 month follow-up. The improvement in PTSD symptoms was significantly greater compared to a similar group of students who did not participate in the mind-body skills program. This is the same model that CMBM’s founder and director, James S. Gordon, M.D., describes in detail in his new book, Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven Stage Journey Out of Depression.

“This RCT,” Dr. Gordon, the lead author, says, “is important because it provides scientific evidence for the efficacy of a model that has been taught to almost 3,000 health and mental health professionals and educators worldwide. We’ve used this small group model to give tens of thousands of children and adults practical tools that help them to feel better quickly, and we’ve taught them to use their intuition and imagination to solve problems that had seemed overwhelming. We help traumatized people around the world to draw on strengths they may have forgotten they have, and we offer them a ‘safe place’ in which they can share their pain with others who have suffered as they have.”

“This model is educational, non-stigmatizing, and powerfully effective. It can be easily taught and can be used by people of all ages on their own,” Dr. Gordon explains. “It’s highly acceptable to populations which do not want to be given medication, those with no access to a doctor or therapist, and those who are in psychotherapy.”

This model, which Dr. Gordon presents in a step-by-step self-help format in Unstuck, is currently being used by CMBM with war traumatized populations in Israel and Gaza as well as in post-Katrina southern Louisiana. It is widely used with anxious and depressed people and those with chronic illness in the US, and has already been incorporated as a stress reduction program for students in a dozen US medical schools.

The CMBM model is also of increasing interest to the US Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration. “The military,” Dr. Gordon says, “understands the breadth and depth of the psychological crisis (as many as 300,000 returning veterans are expected to have posttraumatic stress disorder or major depressive disorder, and another 320,000 will have been made vulnerable to these conditions by traumatic brain injury). The military’s leadership is committed to finding evidence-based approaches, like the one taught by The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, that can make a difference for the individual veteran and his/her family, an approach that can be taught to the large numbers of professionals and peer counselors who serve them.” More than 100 health and mental health professionals who work with the military are expected at the next CMBM training in mind-body medicine on October 25-29 in Minneapolis, and many more are expressing interest in learning and using the CMBM model.

For more information about the upcoming training, click here,  or to order Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression", please email The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM) at mindbody@cmbm.org or visit www.cmbm.org.

Coming Out of the Darkness, One Step at a Time

I was having a conversation recently with one of my favorite veterans (and which veteran is not?!) about how we were going to take a look at his past in a way that wouldn't also cause him some sort of setback, which I wouldn't want (and nor would he).  I'd done a little digging on his behalf, and found a bunc