Dec 17, 2007 -- /prbuzz/ --A new charity – Resolution - is being launched (in January 2007) which offers a radical, highly focussed treatment to end the misery of battle-scarred veterans.
Already shown to be extremely effective in a Falklands Veterans' pilot programme, the new approach to an age old problem will remove the worst symptoms of PTSD in most cases.
Even after many years of suffering it has proved effective where other, more costly forms of treatment have failed. The Resolution approach leaves people free to get on with their lives.
“Having shown, to the satisfaction of everyone who took part that this treatment works, we consider it is now a humanitarian necessity to make it available to everyone who wants it”, says Resolution’s project director Piers Bishop.
Resolution is a joint venture between two charities: the Falklands Veterans' Foundation [FVF] and the Human Givens Foundation [HGF].
The FVF was the first organisation for Falklands Veterans, committed to providing them and their families with social and practical support. The HGF is a mental health charity that conducts research into innovative treatments for psychological problems, aiming to break the mould of mental health treatment and inject some fresh energy into the search for better solutions to our society's difficulties.
The Resolution process
One product of the HGF is HG Therapy for Trauma [HGTT], the method the Resolution project has been using with Falklands veterans during the pilot project.
It has worked on a series of ex-Service personnel suffering from nightmares, panic attacks, flashbacks, mood swings, irrational anger, depression and other symptoms which have come on since exposure to an unpleasant event or events.
The charity can be contacted on it helpline number 0845 021 7873 by those seeking treatment.
“A case manager will talk (and listen!) to you and find out a little about your symptoms”, says Piers. “We will then arrange for you to talk to a Serviceman or woman, if possible from the same arm of the Forces, who has been treated and is now better.
“He or she will explain what the treatment entails and how it worked for them. When you are happy you want to proceed, we arrange the first appointment with a practitioner. We have a network of 150 practitioners, highly experienced in this kind of PTSD work, so we can usually arrange treatment reasonably close to where you live.”
The new treatment is also fast acting. While the charity admits there are no absolute rules, its experience from the Falklands Veterans’ Foundation / Human Givens Foundation pilot programme suggests that most people will need two sessions, but that three or even four sessions will occasionally be beneficial. The bulk of the intrusive symptoms (nightmares and flashbacks) are generally resolved after the first session.
A positive about the approach taken is that victims do not have to tell anyone what happened, so not have to write down their trauma.
Unlike some other approaches, patients do not have to sit with a group and hear about other people's problems. “We will teach you a relaxation technique (our experience is that even the biggest strongest men can be taught to relax, and they enjoy it when they discover how easy it is), then you will be guided through a visualisation technique which reduces the anxiety connected to the traumatic memories”, explains Piers. “This is done extremely carefully so that you remain comfortable throughout.”
Resolution is quick to point out that this is quite unlike 're-living', or 'virtual Iraq', or 'imaginal exposure'. “One of the therapist's primary concerns is that you remain reasonably calm and relaxed throughout”, says Piers.
“The session takes about an hour, and you will need two to four of them. Then it is done. You won't forget the trauma, you can't change the past, but you will find it easier to put those times back in the past where they belong, they won't be travelling with you any more.”
In essence, Resolution is an out-patient service using a radical new treatment model, which its pilot shows is capable of alleviating PTSD symptoms from a very small number of sessions in most cases.
The charity says it does not suit everyone, but is enormously useful for those who prefer to take a brief course of treatment and then turn their attention to something else.
For more information contact Resolution on 0845 021 7873 or visit its website at www.ptsdresolution.org.uk
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MEDIA enquiries to Piers Bishop on 07831 614 292 or email
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ISSUED by Trevor Butler PR www.tbutlerpr.co.uk
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About the Press Release
THERE’S a whole approach to the plight of military PTSD which mars the life of thousands of men and women who have served their country. A new charity – Resolution - is being launched in January
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