From my military service as a Mental Health Nurse in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), I have both directly experienced the affects of trauma during war-time and have provided assistance to human beings who have been effected by trauma.
During my deployment to Afghanistan in 2006, serving at the Role 3 Combat Hospital, I wrote an essay entitled Combat Stress Reaction: The Human Mind at War, when I was completing the required prerequisites for application to my Masters training.
In 2015, I had the good fortune to be provided with training in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), as taught by Dr. Candice Monson. CPT is online at https://cptforptsd.com/ After my CPT training, I joined two CPT-focused clinical studies as a clinician-participant: the CPT Implementation Study and the CPT Sustainability Study. From my work with CPT, I know that CPT provides the means to address the effects of trauma, that it is a very effective trauma-focused therapy. From my work with the CPT Studies noted, I was fortunate to gain status as a Quality-Rated Provider of CPT for PTSD and am noted on the CPT Provider Roster: https://cptforptsd.com/cpt-provider-roster/
In 2018, I had the additional good fortune to be trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) by Dr. EC Hurley of the Soldier Center (https://www.soldier-center.com/index.html).
Trauma: mental health trauma is a negative event that affects a person's ability to engage and enjoy their lived experience. When trauma has lasting impact, a person has strong emotional reactions to recollections of the negative event (these could be related to persons, places or things) and it takes a fairly lengthy period of time for that person's emotional state to re-stabilize. One of the pivotal symptoms seen for a person living with the affects of trauma is avoidance, in that the person strives to avoid activating problematic memories.
CPT: CPT works to relieve the negative impact of trauma. CPT works with modulating problematic thoughts that arise from traumatic experiences and with application of new, more functional thinking gained towards a person's actual lived experience. CPT takes work and the benefits of this work is decrease in problematic symptoms of trauma.
EMDR: EMDR works to re-process problematic memories related to traumatic experience. With EMDR, bilateral stimulus is utilized (using either a person's senses of hearing, touch or vision). When EMDR if effective for a person, the problematic memories are reprocessed, or beneficially changed, so that the symptoms that the person has experienced are decreased.
During my deployment to Afghanistan in 2006, serving at the Role 3 Combat Hospital, I wrote an essay entitled Combat Stress Reaction: The Human Mind at War, when I was completing the required prerequisites for application to my Masters training.
In 2015, I had the good fortune to be provided with training in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), as taught by Dr. Candice Monson. CPT is online at https://cptforptsd.com/ After my CPT training, I joined two CPT-focused clinical studies as a clinician-participant: the CPT Implementation Study and the CPT Sustainability Study. From my work with CPT, I know that CPT provides the means to address the effects of trauma, that it is a very effective trauma-focused therapy. From my work with the CPT Studies noted, I was fortunate to gain status as a Quality-Rated Provider of CPT for PTSD and am noted on the CPT Provider Roster: https://cptforptsd.com/cpt-provider-roster/
In 2018, I had the additional good fortune to be trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) by Dr. EC Hurley of the Soldier Center (https://www.soldier-center.com/index.html).
Trauma: mental health trauma is a negative event that affects a person's ability to engage and enjoy their lived experience. When trauma has lasting impact, a person has strong emotional reactions to recollections of the negative event (these could be related to persons, places or things) and it takes a fairly lengthy period of time for that person's emotional state to re-stabilize. One of the pivotal symptoms seen for a person living with the affects of trauma is avoidance, in that the person strives to avoid activating problematic memories.
CPT: CPT works to relieve the negative impact of trauma. CPT works with modulating problematic thoughts that arise from traumatic experiences and with application of new, more functional thinking gained towards a person's actual lived experience. CPT takes work and the benefits of this work is decrease in problematic symptoms of trauma.
EMDR: EMDR works to re-process problematic memories related to traumatic experience. With EMDR, bilateral stimulus is utilized (using either a person's senses of hearing, touch or vision). When EMDR if effective for a person, the problematic memories are reprocessed, or beneficially changed, so that the symptoms that the person has experienced are decreased.
Under the Heat of the Kandahar Sun: A Poem Written in Honour of Cpl Jason Allen Lucas
While many of the incidents in Afghanistan in 2006 affected me. One incident in particular affected me greatly and I wrote a poem noting this experience. I have received permission from the mother of Cpl Jason Allen Lucas, who is the soldier that this poem is about, to use his name.
Under the Heat of the Kandahar Sun...
I never knew that it was possible
to get to know another in seconds....
I carried him into the hospital, on a strecher, with three others...
shouting, open the doors! outta the way!
his sleeping face staring up
as his friends told him to keep fightin'
I never knew that it was possible
to get to know who a person was
while carrying him with three others on a stretcher
I remember his face, looking at me while still sleeping
that slumber that shortly lead to his death
I heard of his kids, of his young family
sleeping in their beds at home
while the heat of the midday Afghanistan
beat down upon us
And he died. I cried, having met and lost another
in the path into the hospital
I think of his kids, his young wife
His friends who mourned in stunned silence
as they learned of his death.
Under the heat of the Kandahar sun
I must note that I whenever I have the opportunity I ensure people learn about Jason's heroism and sacrifice. I have 3 sons myself and it is Jason's heroism and sacrifice I teach them.
The link to Jason's obituary online can be found here, may the memory of his heroism be eternal:
Under the Heat of the Kandahar Sun...
I never knew that it was possible
to get to know another in seconds....
I carried him into the hospital, on a strecher, with three others...
shouting, open the doors! outta the way!
his sleeping face staring up
as his friends told him to keep fightin'
I never knew that it was possible
to get to know who a person was
while carrying him with three others on a stretcher
I remember his face, looking at me while still sleeping
that slumber that shortly lead to his death
I heard of his kids, of his young family
sleeping in their beds at home
while the heat of the midday Afghanistan
beat down upon us
And he died. I cried, having met and lost another
in the path into the hospital
I think of his kids, his young wife
His friends who mourned in stunned silence
as they learned of his death.
Under the heat of the Kandahar sun
I must note that I whenever I have the opportunity I ensure people learn about Jason's heroism and sacrifice. I have 3 sons myself and it is Jason's heroism and sacrifice I teach them.
The link to Jason's obituary online can be found here, may the memory of his heroism be eternal: