How to Truly Serve Veterans

It's probably easier, and harder, than you think

The purpose of this blog is twofold: First, it is to educate and raise awareness about the "invisible wounds" many veterans carry. I use that term because moral and psychological wounds, though not visible, are as real and as debilitating as outward, physical wounds can be. Second, I intend to offer simple approaches that anyone can use to help veterans overcome the invisible wounds they live with.

I used to believe that veterans, like myself, who struggled to adjust to civilian life or who could not resolve the effects of trauma on their own were "broken" and that mental health professionals had a monopoly on the tools for helping them heal. That was before I spent three and a half years studying to become a counselor myself and before undertaking an intense study of the barriers that keep veterans from seeking or accepting mental health services. Unexpectedly, those experiences left me asking two fundamental questions:

1) Are mental health services really the key to healing the invisible wounds that vex

the veteran population?

2) Would more therapy or even psychotropic medications for Post-Traumatic Stress

Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression address the high rates of suicide,

unemployment, addiction, homelessness, incarceration, etc. that plague military

veterans?

I concluded that mental health services might be part of the solution for some individuals, but I do not believe the answer is a resounding yes to either of these questions. What veterans need more than therapy is connection with honest, loyal, supportive individuals who will courageously and non-judgmentally walk the path of healing with them.

Would you be willing to walk that path with veterans within your own family and community by allowing them to share their stories and unburden their souls? Are you able to provide safety, openness, compassion, forgiveness, and grace, particularly when the veteran wrestles with moral and spiritual doubts? If so, I encourage you to join the movement by clicking the button below.

THIS is how we serve those who've served.

Join the Movement