Non-Traditional Strategies for Care

This video presentation will be in two parts.

Part 1 - Natural and Integrative Therapies for Military Members and First Responders

In my presentation titled “Natural and Integrative Therapies For Military Members and First Responders”, I will discuss eight natural and integrative therapies that can be powerful additions to trauma healing journeys. While talk therapy is very well-supported and is the most common form of therapy, it is completely useless for military members and first responders who avoid it because of the stigma surrounding asking for help. Through expert interviews and reading published research, I have concluded that there are alternatives or additives to talk therapy that can be powerful additions to the healing journey and that are more welcoming and less stigmatized that traditional talk therapy: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Craniosacral Therapy, Dance-Movement Therapy, Trauma-Sensitive Yoga, Equine-Assisted Therapy, Canine-Assisted Therapy, Ecotherapy and Nature-Based Therapies, and Flower Essence Therapy. My presentation will give an overview of the therapies and the evidence surrounding them as to bring awareness to the therapies so that more of our military members and first responders can feel comfortable getting the help they need and deserve.

Objectives:

1. Understand why natural therapies are often more effective for trauma healing for military members and first responders.
2. Describe nine natural therapy methods that can be powerful additions to a survivor's healing journey.
3. Comprehend the effect that the therapy stigma has on trauma survivors.

Part 2 - Family/Significant Other Inclusion in Treatment for Trauma

Significant evidence has demonstrated the association between social support and mental health outcomes, particularly for trauma-related disorders. Further, symptoms of trauma-related disorders have been shown to have deleterious effects on relationships, particularly with regard to avoidance, emotional numbing, and hyperarousal. These effects even broaden to impacts on the mental health of other members of the family (e.g. children, spouses). The connection between coping with trauma and social support is particularly important for veterans, who experience higher levels of trauma than the general population. The purpose of this talk is to provide evidenced-based strategies for including families/significant others in treatment of trauma-related care for Veterans. As treatment can take a wide variety of forms, it is important to consider the spectrum of involvement, from collateral reporting, psycho-education, and conjoint or family treatments. This talk will look at that spectrum of involvement, including possible contraindications for involvement of family members or considerations for the sequencing of care.

Objectives:

1. Review research examining the importance of relationships in treatment for trauma-related disorders.
2. Provide a spectrum of evidenced-based strategies for inclusion of families in trauma treatment.
3. Identify areas of future need for inclusion of families in mental health care.

Originally recorded at IVAT's 25th San Diego International Virtual Summit