The evolution of treatments for veterans with PTSD

AUSTIN, Texas - In this FOX 7 Care Force, we're looking at the evolution of treating veterans with post-traumatic stress (PTSD). Have protocols changed based on what's been learned through the years of care?

Tim Frere, with The Samaritan Center, joins FOX 7's Mike Warren to discuss how treatments have changed for veterans with PTSD and what new treatments are now being offered.

Mike: Tim, the Samaritan Center's Hope for Heroes program has treated thousands of veterans with post-traumatic stress for close to 15 years now. What has been learned in that time?

Tim: The mobilities for vets have been updating in regard to therapists, so a lot of EMDR, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, it's a formal modality that's used because it's quick. It's not a year long with every week coming in, and it's been found vets don't want to do the long term. We want 5-10 sessions and EMDR is one of the ones used that's helping vets. So we're getting that in and going through a quicker process.

Mike: Are there changes in the veterans themselves?

Tim: They have, the younger vets are more likely to come in to get help, so like me. I served from 2012-2014, and during that time, I noticed the older generation of my leaders were adverse to treatment, but the younger guys are more likely to come in and get help.

Mike: How is Hope for Heroes doing things differently?

Tim: Like I was saying there's the trauma focused therapy going out and finding vets using the holistic approach because we're finding that using not just therapy, but integrated medicine. And using our mental health peer specialist and saying I'm not just going to sit down and get therapy, but looking at the whole body and someone to talk to on the side with the peer network, where it's not just one aspect, we're attacking everything at once.