Noteboom The Law Firm

Private Treatment Center Helps Veterans with PTSD

February 18, 2011 - The Pathway Home is a private, residential treatment program designed for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Pathway utilizes an "open-ended regiment of free treatment," which allows veterans to re-enter civilian society at a more gradual rate than just being thrown back into it following their deployment.

According to the Pathway staff, traditional therapy sessions are not enough to address the level of problems many veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suffer from. One 30-minute session every week cannot address the gamut of emotions that accompany PTSD:

• Fear;
• Mistrust;
• Hopelessness; and
• Paranoia.
  

The home can hold up to 38 veterans at one time. While there the veterans will take classes in any number of subjects to help them heal, from anger management to addiction to parenting. Days are filled with recreational activities mixed with going into the local town. It is vitally important to keep these veterans involved with, and connected to, the "outside" world while they heal at Pathway.

When they're ready, they begin sharing experiences in groups, which many find not only cathartic but necessary. Everybody in the room can relate to each other and understands where they have been.

Contrary to somewhat similar Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) programs, there are no time limits on how long veterans can stay at Pathway. Some see Pathway's approach as helpful, some see it as creating a further problem. The fact is, Pathway has a very high percentage of their veterans "graduate" and successfully re-enter their civilian roles.