Researchers from the Departments of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Old Dominion University at Norfolk, Virginia, examined the impact of a structured meditation program intervention on female detainees, comparing an experimental group and a control group for medical symptoms, emotions, and behaviors before and after the intervention.

A 2 1/2-hour meditation session was held once a week for 7 weeks. Study participants completed a medical symptoms checklist before the program began and after it ended.

This exquisitely written note was so moving and so heartfelt, it brought tears to the eyes of everyone on our staff.  We all say thank you for thanking us. 

Question:

As an Licensed Professional Counselor who has found great success with Guided Imagery AND the mother of a 26 year old Iraq War veteran who has suffered with severe PTSD for 4 years, I am curious what the VA and military are doing with Guided Imagery.  Since going to the VA and military installations were often "triggers" for my son, we opted for civilian practitioners and a civilian treatment center that provided an array of complimentary therapies including Guided Imagery.

At neither our VA or the military installations that we have HAD to go to, has any alternative/complimentary therapy been suggested...usually just meds and CBT.

Perhaps a "hint" of some of the wonderful stuff going on would be helpful to share on this newsletter...maybe even something I could encourage my son to explore.

Many thanks,
Cynde Collins-Clark, LPC
www.VeteransFamiliesUnited.org
Mom of OIF veteran

Question:

Hello, I want you to know that in the late 1990s, my husband and I saw a marital counselor in Atlanta and bought one of your recordings for depression. It helped tremendously! Thank you so much!

Now the same husband and I are going through a divorce. After 26 years of marriage. I have several chronic illnesses, some brought on by stress from living in an emotionally abusive situation for so many years. I would like for you to recommend a place for me to start. I am not sleeping well and have a broken heart and spirit.  I am doing my best to heal, but I am taking it one day at a time and know this is a long process. Please advise me on which CD/DVD would be best.

With Much Gratitude,
Della

We’ve been getting more and more valuable feedback on how our troops are using guided imagery to improve their emotional resilience and reduce symptoms of acute stress and PTSD. And at long last, the word is starting to spread from base to base, vet center to vet center, hospital to hospital, without our having to go sell the idea anew to each place. This has been a long time coming, people!

The Duke/Durham V.A. studies continue apace, some nearing completion, and the exciting results continue to hold steady and even improve as we tweak the imagery intervention.  The summary of three clinical trials, plus a survey, can be found here. We’ll have more to report when the final blood work and MRI studies are in, so stay tuned.  That’s when the journal articles will appear, too.

Researchers R. Bruce Lydiard, Ph.D., M.D., and Mark Hammer MD from the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston SC , are embarking on some important research that targets sleep disturbance in posttraumatic stress.  Their premise is that the first-line treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder - medication (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and cognitive behavior therapy – do not adequately treat nightmares and insomnia. Nor do they feel that there is sufficient awareness in the mental health community of the critical role sleep disturbance plays in PTSD.

It is with great pleasure that I am able to tell you what a huge difference guided imagery has made to me.

Briefly, I was a victim of sexual abuse from age seven to 10. This man (a neighbor) literally pulled me off the sidewalk one day in April and changed my life forever. In winter, he left me alone. But come Spring, there he was again.

It was a couple of years into therapy before I realized why I had always loved winter and sank into depression each Spring.

Question:

Well...an email from Dr. Shealy's outfit today linked me to an excerpt (chapter 10) from Invisible Heroes [ed.note: this refers to a free report that NICABM has been distributing online]...which provoked me into looking the book up over at Amazon...which, despite the glowing reviews, intensified my already burgeoning dismay. The basis of that dismay is my inability to visualize; my minds eye wears a patch. I wasn't always this way; I know the power of "seeing", visualization. I wonder (hope), do you have any recommendations, suggestions for me? Anything that might make your process fruitful for me? (ooops! I submitted this to the wrong place initially; sorry!)

Mike

Hi.

I watched Belleruth today being interviewed on London TV.  I was amazed.  I was abused as a child, from 18 months to 22 years old.  During my twenties, whenever a memory or flashback invaded my head, I used to visualize myself as an adult, rescuing me as a child.  This had a profound effect on me, and also shifted the dynamics of powerlessness.  Although I could not change what happened to me, I did not have to relive the horror in memories or flashbacks.  In time, the flashbacks faded away and did not bother me. I am at peace with my childhood. 

However, 3 years ago, I was date raped, and I am having difficulties. The memories  are not there, although the feelings of terror are.  I suffer terrible panic attacks, and I jump from anger and pain to apathy and not leaving the house.  How do I get past memories I don't have?  Please help. 

Kind regards, Carina