The following is a review of the literature on Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP) as a potential treatment for US service members with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD). EAP is a relatively new and undeclared psychotherapeutic technique that presents limitless opportunities for holistic growth in patients who have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) who have not achieved an improvement in their quality of life as a result of other conventional treatments. Due to its heterogenous nature, PTSD directly dismantles the brain’s reward circuitry pathway, altering the individual’s capacity for emotional resolution. For US veterans suffering from PTSD who have not received palpable improvements through traditional talk therapies, EAP is a treatment for emotional vulnerability and communal reintegration when used in conjunction with techniques of attachment theory and cognitive-behavioral theory. Previous studies show an uptick in interpersonal trust and an alleviation of maladaptive defensive mechanisms set in place by the individual to protect the psyche. Research is indicative of an alleviation in overall symptomatology with an emphasis in the rehearsal of therapeutic strategies within interpersonal relationships to rehabilitate social engagement and cognition. Due to the lack of foundational acceptance of EAP thus far as a treatment for PTSD, it is challenging to ascertain a marginalized understanding of the holistic effects of EAP on PTSD as a stand alone psychotherapeutic treatment.
The thesis looks into the sacrifices of first responders and veterans and how the differences between these people of service are transcended by said sacrifices, allowing them to better empathize and understand what one another had gone through. The thesis also looks at this understanding of sacrifices among people of service, and how such an understanding can be used by the public to better understand issues that affect veterans and first responders after and during their service.
In the legal case In re Agent Orange Product Liability Litigation of the early 1980s, US military veterans of the Vietnam War sued the US chemical companies that had produced the herbicide Agent Orange, and those companies settled with US veterans out of court. Agent Orange contains dioxin, a chemical later shown to disrupt the hormone system of the body and to cause cancer. As veterans returned to the US from Vietnam, scientists further confirmed that exposure to Agent Orange caused a variety of cancers in veterans and developmental problems in the veterans' children. The veterans and their families held the chemical manufactures of Agent Orange liable for their injuries and the injuries to their children. The chemical companies settled the case out of court in 1984 for $180 million, to be used for medical expenses or compensation for death relating to veterans' exposure to Agent Orange. Agent Orange's use in the Vietnam War affected close to ten million people in the US, including members of the US military directly exposed to it, and their children conceived years after direct exposure.
Presentation slides regarding the history of Victory Village, the trailer park built in 1945-46 to provide housing for WWII Veterans and their families at Arizona State University's Tempe campus. A presentation of research from University Archives records conducted in the summer of 2018. The presentation was videotaped as a lecture for Professor Volker Benkert's online World War II history class.
veteran homelessness. According to the Veterans Affairs, over 500,000 veterans live
in Arizona, which comprises about 2.5% of the nation’s veteran’s population as of
September 30, 2017. Many veterans have neither the skills nor resources necessary
to integrate back into society after their tour of duty thus leading them into
homelessness.
The goal of this thesis is to research organizations in the Phoenix Metropolitan area
that help to prevent veteran homelessness and/or assist homeless veterans in
obtaining stable housing. Programs and services provided by various organizations
are discussed, along with an analysis which reveals insufficient money, labor, and
space to fully address veteran homelessness, as well as a trend where most
organizations are trying to solve this issue on their own. Recommendations are
provided which include identifying synergies between entities to create greater impact
through partnerships, so society can improve the veteran homelessness situation and
help those who bravely served our country find stability in their personal lives.
A sample of 239 United States Armed Forces veterans (171 male, 67 female, 1 nonbinary) enrolled in institutions of higher education across the United States was recruited through an online program. In addition to a demographic sheet, participants completed self-report measures assessing cultural congruity, sense of coherence, post-traumatic stress symptoms, mentoring, college stress, and career decision-making difficulties.
Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that of the two constructs comprising campus environment, only cultural congruity was a significant and negative predictor of college stress. Mentoring was not a significant predictor. Post-traumatic stress symptoms predicted college stress above and beyond the variance predicted by college environment. The greater student veterans’ post-traumatic stress symptoms, the more college stress they reported experiencing. A moderated hierarchical regression revealed that college environment did not moderate the relation between post-traumatic stress symptoms and college stress. College stress was found to be a positive predictor of career decision-making difficulties. Sense of coherence did not moderate the relation between college stress and career decision-making difficulties.
Findings are discussed in the context of Schlossberg’s transition model, which posits that individuals will navigate the transition process based on their perceptions of the transition and their personal assets and liabilities, factors that influence coping ability. Limitations and clinical implications for working with student veterans are presented. The importance of early intervention to enhance cultural congruity and address post-traumatic stress symptoms and career decision-making difficulties among student veterans is discussed.