Combat Veterans Group
Solara Mental Health provides residential mental health treatment to veterans who are struggling with PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. And, by offering separate combat and non-combat tracks for PTSD treatment, Solara’s team of mental health professionals can most effectively support the veterans who have served and protected their country.
Solara’s combat veterans therapy group is one example of this specialized treatment, designed to help heal the psychological wounds of war and restore mental health and wellness.
What is a Combat Veterans Group?
A combat veterans group is a therapeutic support group led by a trained psychologist. These groups are designed specifically for combat veterans suffering from PTSD or other mental health disorders.
While the military community prides itself on fellowship, veterans transitioning back into civilian life often find themselves without a similar support system. So, while one-on-one therapy may still be useful, veterans can also benefit from combining group therapy with their one-on-one sessions.
In a group therapy setting, combat veterans can:
- Share their experiences in a safe and supportive setting. They can share their challenges with people who are or have been in similar situations can be deeply nourishing. And the feeling of being listened to and understood by others is healing.
- Become free from the feeling that they are the only one struggling with mental health challenges. Recognizing that others are having similar difficulties can be a starting point in recovery.
- Take an active role in the healing process of other veterans. Learning to support and understand others is an essential part of one's own healing and transformation.
- Create a bond with a group of other veterans—which can evolve into a support network that they can rely upon as they continue to heal and integrate into civilian life.
- Create a bond with a group of other veterans—which can evolve into a support network that they can rely upon as they continue to heal and integrate into civilian life.
Solara Mental Health is one such veteran care facility, which provides combat veterans group therapy, to facilitate healing and build community among combat veterans who are recovering from mental illnesses.
VA benefit healthcare services such as this are available for veterans who served on active duty in a theater of combat operations after November 11, 1998; and have been discharged under other than dishonorable conditions. These benefits are available for up to five years after discharge: i.e., from the date on which the veteran left the service or, in the case of multiple the most recent discharge date.
Combat Veterans and Trauma
Trauma is a lasting emotional response that can result from experiencing a distressing event. Combat-related experiences can be among the most intensely horrifying, life-threatening, and psychologically distressing of all traumatic events.
Catastrophic injury, widespread death (of civilians as well as soldiers), sexual violence, torture, malnutrition, illness, disability, sleep deprivation, and being without proper shelter are some of the physical combat wartime experiences that often result in a lasting trauma response.
In addition, the loneliness and isolation of being away from home, friends, and family, are psychological conditions that can also contribute to long-term trauma. The violence of war not only damages bodies but also disrupts lives and severs relationships, contributing to the emotional distress and mental health disorders that combat veterans are often left with.
PTSD and Combat Veterans
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the mental health disorders often experienced by combat veterans. At some point in their life, 7% of veterans will have PTSD. And the physical stress and mental anguish of active deployment significantly increase this risk of having PTSD.
Veterans suffering from PTSD struggle to recover from the trauma they have experienced during their direct war-zone combat.
PTSD symptoms can include continuously reliving the wartime trauma, for instance via flashbacks, nightmares, or intrusive memories. It can include suffering from insomnia or having memory loss. It may also include becoming emotionally numb, detached, and withdrawn.
Other PTSD symptoms include ongoing feelings of anxiety, irritability, or anger. The veteran may experience hypervigilance, being easily startled, or engage in overly combative/protective behavior. They may experience negative changes in thinking and moods, feelings of sadness, guilt, or shame, or a loss of interest in activities that they previously enjoyed.
The lingering trauma response of PTSD can negatively affect all areas of the veteran’s life. The physical and emotional pain and suffering can become incredibly challenging.
The good news is that Solara’s PTSD program for veterans can provide the expert help that is needed to heal from PTSD and other combat-related mental health disorders.
Depression and Combat Veterans
While depression is pervasive among Americans in general, it impacts veterans more than almost any other population.
Along with PTSD, depression is one of the mental health conditions most frequently experienced by veterans, especially those in active combat. Depression affects 20% of veterans and 23% of active-duty veterans.
The possible causes of depression among veterans are many and varied. They include the stressful intensity of direct combat, feelings of isolation, separation from loved ones for extended periods, the absence of emotional support systems, and continuous exposure to life-threatening situations.
Some of the main symptoms of depression include:
- Sleep problems
- Lack of energy
- Poor concentration
- Loss of appetite or other eating issues
- Problems with confidence and/or self-image
- Ongoing thoughts of death or suicide
As with PTSD, depression can negatively affect all areas of a veteran’s life. Luckily, depression is a highly treatable mental health disorder, and Solara provides a multitude of effective treatment options.
Learn More About Solara's Combat Veterans Group
Solara Mental Health—located in San Diego, California, provides residential mental health treatment to veterans who are struggling with PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders. Solara’s highly trained mental health team provides holistic and evidence-based therapies to support veterans along a path of healing and transformation.
Solara’s Veterans PTSD Program includes separate combat and non-combat tracks. Both of these tracks address complex trauma conditions associated with military service.
Solara Mental Health is also a contracted treatment provider with the Veterans Administration (VA). This means that they can provide all-inclusive inpatient and outpatient mental health services at no cost to qualifying veterans. Solara provides veterans with the most comprehensive level of mental health treatment. Therapeutic modalities employed by compassionate and skillful practitioners include:
- Individual and group therapy
- Trauma-focused therapy
- Transcranial magnetic therapy (TMS)
- Prolonged exposure therapy (PE)
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
Holistic therapies used to complement and deepen a veteran’s healing include:
- Art therapy
- Biofeedback
- Breath therapy
- Light and sound therapy
- Mindfulness
- Meditation
- Yoga
The mental health professionals at Solara Mental Health provide various treatment options for veteran mental health. Each veteran’s unique circumstances are taken into account to create a therapeutic protocol that can best support their healing process. With expert mental health treatment, veterans can restore their mental health, learn to adapt to civilian life, and enjoy health and wellness for years to come.
Questions or comments? Please feel free to contact us.
