Warrior PATHH 18-month Study: Final Results

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, more than 2.8 million men and women have deployed to war zones across the globe, serving with honor, courage, commitment, loyalty, duty, respect, integrity, and excellence. The post 9/11 conflicts, which represent the longest stretch of war in American history, have taken a tremendous toll in terms of both visible and invisible wounds. It is estimated that more than 30 percent of these remarkable Warriors are struggling with PTSD (a clinical diagnosis received from a mental health professional) or combat stress (struggling with the same symptoms but lacking an official diagnosis). We have now lost more brave souls to suicide at home than on the battlefield, and the suicide rate has grown every year since 2002.

Boulder Crest acts as a laboratory for exploring the effectiveness of alternative approaches to helping veterans and their families achieve Posttraumatic Growth.

– Dr. Richard Tedeschi and Dr. Bret Moore. The Military Psychologist, 2016

In September 2013, we opened Boulder Crest Retreat Virginia with one objective in mind – to ensure that combat veterans and their families had what they required to live great lives – full of passion, purpose, growth, connection, and service – here at home. Our first nine months were dedicated to learning and understanding the nature and effectiveness of current approaches, and identifying gaps. We hosted a number of clinical and non-clinical programs, attended conferences, and had countless meetings with experts from across the trauma, PTSD, and military psychology fields. What we heard – time and again – was that nothing was working. Nothing was allowing combat veterans to thrive at home. The treatments they did receive – normally a combination of pharmacology and psychotherapy – seemed to temporarily diminish some of the more overwhelming symptoms of PTSD and combat stress, but could not offer a springboard to a great life at home. In short, the message was clear: the best that struggling combat veterans and their family members could hope for was lives as diminished, and often medicated, versions of themselves.

Innovative Solution to PTSD

In May 2014, we began work on a new and innovative program – Warrior PATHH – to address the shortcomings of the status quo and ensure that combat veterans could thrive at home. Warrior PATHH represented the first-ever program designed to cultivate and facilitate Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) amongst the military and veteran community. PTG is a decades- old science that provides a framework for transforming times of deep struggle into profound strength and lifelong growth.

Download Report: Final 18-month Study Results: Warrior PATHH