Wellness Warrior Training
Donation protected
22 American veterans commit suicide every day and the incidence of suicide for veterans is 50% higher than for demographically comparable civilians. Veterans also suffer from chronic pain and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at higher rates as well. 81% of vets deal with some form of chronic pain and 68% deal with PTSD.
I find these statistics unbelievably sad and so unnecessary. Over the past few months, I’ve been trying to come up with some way to help reverse this heartbreaking reality. As a bodywork instructor nearly for the past nine years, I know massage therapy has a proven track record to help both chronic pain and PTSD. As beneficial as it would be however, getting hundreds of thousands of veterans all over the country to see a licensed massage therapist on a regular basis doesn’t seem like a practical solution. That’s when it hit me, teach the veterans and their stakeholders (spouse, partner, family member, caregiver, etc.) to safely administer a modified (and fully clothed) compassionate touch session for each other.
My hope is that through learning and applying these skills, the effects of PTSD and chronic pain some of our brave veterans are facing can be lessened. And if even one veteran chooses a path different from ending his or her life, I will consider this work a success.
Further, by teaching the vets themselves how to administer a compassionate touch session for a loved one will empower them to feel like they have something worthwhile to give back.
Right now the basic outline of how this project gets rolled out is divided into three (and possibly four) phases, outlined below. In Phase I, the training is created, in Phase II, the facilitator training is created and in Phase III the training is delivered through veteran services organizations all over the country. In this way, I believe we can get these skills to as many veterans who need it as possible.
Phase I:
• Establish an advisory board. Ideally, this board will consist of several veterans, a licensed clinical social worker with experience dealing with veterans, other stakeholders (spouses, partners, family members, caregivers, etc.), massage therapists with experience working with veterans, massage therapists who are veterans, etc.
• Create a prototype compassionate touch training to address both PTSD and chronic pain.
• Develop an outreach program to find participants willing to beta test the prototype training.
• Revise training as needed based on participant feedback.
• Develop a participant workbook.
The estimated cost for Phase I is $20,000. This includes: buying advertising in local media, program development and renting venue space big enough to conduct the initial trainings, workbook development and printing costs.
Phase II:
• Create a facilitator training program to instruct other people to deliver the Wellness Warrior Training program.
• Develop a facilitator manual.
The estimated cost of Phase II is $5,000. This includes: program development and workbook development and printing costs.
Phase III:
• Create an outreach effort to find and partner with local, regional and national veterans services groups and organizations (Veterans Administration, Veterans Count, Wounded Warrior Project, American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, etc.) to host the Wellness Warrior Training for their constituents.
• Deliver the facilitator training in as many locations around the country as possible.
The estimated cost for Phase III is $60,000. This includes: all travel expenses related to delivering the facilitator training at multiple veterans services organizations throughout the country.
Phase IV (tentative):
• Create and deliver a modified Wellness Warrior Training specifically for veterans with physical limitations.
Please help me bring this training to every veteran who can benefit from it. And if you can't help out financially at this time, please consider sharing this on all of your social networking profiles as well as via e-mail.
Thank you and be well,
Joe
I find these statistics unbelievably sad and so unnecessary. Over the past few months, I’ve been trying to come up with some way to help reverse this heartbreaking reality. As a bodywork instructor nearly for the past nine years, I know massage therapy has a proven track record to help both chronic pain and PTSD. As beneficial as it would be however, getting hundreds of thousands of veterans all over the country to see a licensed massage therapist on a regular basis doesn’t seem like a practical solution. That’s when it hit me, teach the veterans and their stakeholders (spouse, partner, family member, caregiver, etc.) to safely administer a modified (and fully clothed) compassionate touch session for each other.
My hope is that through learning and applying these skills, the effects of PTSD and chronic pain some of our brave veterans are facing can be lessened. And if even one veteran chooses a path different from ending his or her life, I will consider this work a success.
Further, by teaching the vets themselves how to administer a compassionate touch session for a loved one will empower them to feel like they have something worthwhile to give back.
Right now the basic outline of how this project gets rolled out is divided into three (and possibly four) phases, outlined below. In Phase I, the training is created, in Phase II, the facilitator training is created and in Phase III the training is delivered through veteran services organizations all over the country. In this way, I believe we can get these skills to as many veterans who need it as possible.
Phase I:
• Establish an advisory board. Ideally, this board will consist of several veterans, a licensed clinical social worker with experience dealing with veterans, other stakeholders (spouses, partners, family members, caregivers, etc.), massage therapists with experience working with veterans, massage therapists who are veterans, etc.
• Create a prototype compassionate touch training to address both PTSD and chronic pain.
• Develop an outreach program to find participants willing to beta test the prototype training.
• Revise training as needed based on participant feedback.
• Develop a participant workbook.
The estimated cost for Phase I is $20,000. This includes: buying advertising in local media, program development and renting venue space big enough to conduct the initial trainings, workbook development and printing costs.
Phase II:
• Create a facilitator training program to instruct other people to deliver the Wellness Warrior Training program.
• Develop a facilitator manual.
The estimated cost of Phase II is $5,000. This includes: program development and workbook development and printing costs.
Phase III:
• Create an outreach effort to find and partner with local, regional and national veterans services groups and organizations (Veterans Administration, Veterans Count, Wounded Warrior Project, American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, etc.) to host the Wellness Warrior Training for their constituents.
• Deliver the facilitator training in as many locations around the country as possible.
The estimated cost for Phase III is $60,000. This includes: all travel expenses related to delivering the facilitator training at multiple veterans services organizations throughout the country.
Phase IV (tentative):
• Create and deliver a modified Wellness Warrior Training specifically for veterans with physical limitations.
Please help me bring this training to every veteran who can benefit from it. And if you can't help out financially at this time, please consider sharing this on all of your social networking profiles as well as via e-mail.
Thank you and be well,
Joe
Organizer
Joe McCue Cwp
Organizer
Portsmouth, NH
