I can’t tell you how many times we’re asked by people who work with the military, “How come your stuff isn’t available through Military One Source??”.
We get asked this by active troops and their families; by social workers and chaplains on bases; by docs at military hospitals; by mental health and health professionals who work with the various Transitioning Warrior and Wounded Warrior programs; and by staff at crisis call centers set up for returning warfighters.
And
the irony is that while some heavy hitter DoD people - at DICoE and NICoE, at Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital -
ask this question, too, it appears that the hold-up is somewhere in the bowels
of the very same DoD that hosts these institutions - lost in some bureaucratic
hell perhaps?
It makes us crazy.
I have to say, we’ve been working hard to cut through
the red tape. Every week our superstar guy out in the field, Jerry Miller, reaches out and gently, charmingly and persistently prods,
goads, entices, reminds, gooses and pitches the various powers that be. They say they’re working on it. Meantime, we know this stuff helps with the
most wretched symptoms of PTSD - we know this from Jennifer Strauss’
randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials, and we know this from providers
in every branch of the service.
Jerry tells them, “Dude, you already like our stuff and use it a lot!!” He reminds them that our imagery is in scores of bases and hospitals; that the Army sends it to our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq - even Korea and Germany; that it’s already in over 80 V.A.’s; and that it’s ordered by the boatload for National Guard and Wounded Warrior programs all over the country.
Very
frustrating.
Come
to think of it, even before Jerry was on the scene, we were trying to tell Military One Source and Tri-Care about how much use
our audio programs are already getting.
[Sidebar: This is not to mention
how civilian insurance companies and HMO’s have long seen the merit and cost
saving benefits of imagery - Kaiser alone has been giving out our imagery to
members since 1992 and now offers free downloads to members on their Healthy Living to Go web
page!]
The
bottom line, of course, is that it makes us even crazier, given the amount of
distress, posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, grief, despair and suicide
our service people and their families are contending with. With the evidence-based
results we have to show, you’d think they’d maybe bust a move and make it
easier for people to access these el cheapo, super-functional resources???
Many do find us anyway, through word of mouth, through informed providers like
you guys out there, and even through chat rooms and online bulletin
boards. But clearly having this
available through Military One Source would be the easiest way for people in
need to access this resource.
This
is especially critical for those who live far from competent professional help.
At the very least, we can say that calming, mood-regulating, uplifting guided
imagery on digital audio is something
and that’s a whole lot better than nothing.
Plus it’s accessible, portable, user-friendly, self-administered, inexpensive
and - most important - effective at reducing symptoms - sometimes to a
jaw-dropping extent
And in the lucky instances where professional help is available, the audios provide an added boost to healing, some extra support, in the form of a concrete takeaway to be used as mental health homework.
So
what am I missing here? Seems like a
no-brainer to me.
In
our fit of righteous pique, we’re taking this straight to you, our generous,
good-hearted, wise professional supporters and informed end-users. If you’ve
got any clout; if you know a decision maker in the military; if you’re a
professional who sees a lot of returning war fighters and families, and can
speak with authority about this, would you please, please shoot an email to Mary Craig, and ask her to try and move this process along?
If you’ve got stories - personal or professional - tell them to
her. If you’ve got data, let her know.
You just may be
the critical mass necessary to make this happen. Please become the
ballast it takes to tilt this teetering, wobbly see-saw of non-decision-making at
the Pentagon over in the right direction.
Don’t do it for us - we’re doing fine. This is for them, the people who’ve put themselves at great risk on so many levels - physical, emotional, financial, familial - and who have sacrificed too much already. We’ve got something they can use, and we need to get it to them in as many ways as possible.
For this, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
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This is just my opnion but I believe that the military culture and thinking is more inclined toward the "suck it up" mode and is not that interested helping anyone with PTSD or in trying to prevent it. They learned very little from the experience of Vietnam vets and seem to be of the belief that once you have PTSD, you will always have it so there's not much they can do to help. Some vets would rather suffer in silence than be thought of as less than a man because they have symptoms which are normal responses! Sorry, I know that there are many active duty and vets who are benefitting from your CDs but the military machine is like a big, slow dinosaur and isn't going to get quicker or more efficient any time soon!
... written by Belleruth,
November 17, 2010
And then there's Patience Mason's rant on my rant, on her award-winning PTSD Blog, here: http://patiencemason.blogspot....d-me.html Maybe some day our plucky heroine will tell us how she REALLY feels!! :)
... written by Belleruth,
November 17, 2010
Actually Kathryn, I think they're motivated and ready to address this, and they're getting good direction from the top down now, too. They've made some impressive inroads, and there are a lot of good, smart people trying to change things. It's just that the system is such an unwieldy juggernaut, it just takes too darn long.
... written by Louise,
November 17, 2010
Belleruth, I have used your imagery for years. I work as a Military Family Life Consultant. I know that I personally would be delighted to have access to your imagery for military families. Our program offers free counseling for those connected to military members. Maybe there is a way other than Military One Source???
... written by Sandy,
November 17, 2010
I agree with Kathryn's analysis of the overall military culture - and I say that as a survivor of the Army during the VN era. And in later years I have treated vets who confirmed to me that the fastest way of ending a career in the military is to ask for help for traum. IMHO, only a very small percentage of the military culture gives a rat's patootie about "caring for our vets." Thank god for those people - but they fight an uphill battle. I think that the Pentagon/Military Industrial profit culture would prefer that wounded vets just die; it's a lot cheaper for them to pay a one-time death benefit than it is to pay for a lifetime of care.
And the record of indifference to vet's suffering is a long one - just read "Wages of War: When America's Soldiers Came Home: From Valley Forge to Vietnam" to see how this pattern has been going on for a long, long, long time...and is highly unlikely to change in our lifetimes.
What's worse is that our WHOLE culture as a whole seems to be oriented towards war and violence, which produces PTSD-inflicted individuals and families faster than we could possibly hope to treat them. And that's on top of the horrific suffering we as a nation have inflicted on peoples all over the world. We seem to think that all the 'collateral damage' we cause is "unfortunate," but basically OK, because "We didn't MEAN to kill the innocent people; those things just happen in war, and we can't do anything about it." Oh yes we could - we could stop glorifying the military, and stop using war as our preferred means of solving problems...and that would go a long way towards stemming the overwhelming tide of trauma victims we produce so mindlessly. Thanks for reminding me of Patience Mason's work on the behalf of vets and their families. I had the pleasure of meeting her and Robert at the Seattle VA hospital, not long after her first book came out. She's done more to help vets than all the politicians in the last 30 years put together...
... written by Jane Miller, LISW, CDBC,
November 19, 2010
I will try again to write this comment since it did not go through previously. I know Belleruth supports the healing power of dogs for those suffering from PTSD, TBI & MST since she endorsed my book and wrote a blurb on the front cover. To learn more: my book, "Healing Companions: Ordinary Dogs and Their Extraordinary Power To Transform Lives," includes compelling stories of veterans and others and how their psychiatric service dogs have helped them survive their debilitating symptoms of PTSD, TBI & MST. Thanks. Peace, Jane Miller, LISW, CDBC www.healing-companions.com Jane Miller's groundbreaking new book on psychiatric service dogs.
Pat Alandydy, RNHats off to Pat Alandydy, RN, O.R. nurse, Reiki Master, health educator and integrative care innovator, who first approached the administration of Portsmouth Regional Hospital in Portsmouth NH back... + Full Story
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Sorry, I know that there are many active duty and vets who are benefitting from your CDs but the military machine is like a big, slow dinosaur and isn't going to get quicker or more efficient any time soon!