Diary Dates

6-8 Dec            Big Give

Dec                  tbc Treadmill marathon - Anthony Taylor

2013

14 April            Bungay Marathon in Suffolk - Andi Murray

2 May               TATE workshop

15 May             The Georges Leygues sailing Challenge - Matt Minshall org with Toe-in-the-water.  Resolution boat provided, crew to be found.

5 June             House of Lords reception (by invitation only)

30 June           Tandem sky dive and marathon - Rhea Jefferies, daughter of one of our therapists, in conjunction with Armed Forces Day

Sept                 Conference (tba)

tbc                   Family Fun Day, Liverpool, Stephanie Fairweather

2014                Matt Minshall plans to climb in Oman

2014                Matt Minshall has plans to do something in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of WW1

BIG GIVE December 6, 7, 8 – from 10:00am

BIG GIVE: Please note these important Diary Dates: December 6, 7, 8 – from 10:00am

 http://new.thebiggive.org.uk/donation/to/8943

On these dates, any donations made to PTSD Resolution could be doubled by matched funding from the Big Give charity fund. So for every pound donated, we can claim an additional pound from Big Give.

PTSD Resolution relies on charitable giving so we can continue to provide counselling. For the first time, we now have waiting lists because of the demands on funding – and so we ask for your help.

So, why donate to PTSD Resolution? 

ü  It works: a 78 per cent success rate in resolving trauma for UK veterans & reservists

ü  Fast help: average of five sessions required on an outpatient basis

ü  Access for all: 200 HG therapists in our national network

ü  Every penny counts: we’ve no salaried staff or premises: all funds are used for therapy treatment & essential information

 Any donations we raise could be doubled – for free – but only when you donate on-line at the Big Give from December 6^th from 10am.

  “PTSD Resolution has got it right and I would recommend them to anyone who’s suffering, and to get help sooner rather than leaving it too late….” PB. 25 years’ service as medic

  “The memories are still there, they will never go away, but I have my life back and (my wife) and I are also back together….” HC, 16 years’ veteran, Scots Guards

  “The help provided by Resolution is immediate and it’s very effective. I recommend it unreservedly…” MS retired Major, Parachute Regiment

 So please remember The Big Give on December 6^th (or 7^th or 8^{t h}) as the day to donate – and please forward this today to your colleagues, friends and family. Thanks for your help. Please do call me if you want to discuss this further.

Latest results for Counselling: 8 out of 10 success

Of the ex-service personnel who received counselling by PTSD Resolution over two years, 157 completed the programme, and 78 per cent of these had symptoms reduced to below the clinical level, in an average of five sessions.

“ Sadly some people do not respond to therapy – others are in the middle of compensation cases or legal processes that can interfere with their capacity to change,” says Piers Bishop, Director of Counseling

Around one quarter of those who contacted the charity initially were unable to engage in counselling, for a range of reasons. Some were too distressed to focus on the programme, or had lives too chaotic to be able to take part in regular weekly sessions, even for the few weeks required. (Source: PTSD Resolution, 2012 www.ptsdresolution.org)

Remembrance Sunday Launch for ‘80:20 Appeal’ for Veterans’ Mental Health

A new appeal is launched to save a unique counselling service that resolves military trauma for nearly eight out of ten armed forces veterans that complete the programme offered by PTSD Resolution (Registered Charity No. 1133188) - in an average of just five one-hour sessions - www.ptsdresolution.org

“ PTSD Resolution was set up to provide free treatment without delay - because when veterans ask for help they are often desperate. As a charity we rely solely on voluntary donations. There’s no Government, social services or NHS help. Our funds are depleted by the demands for help, and now there’s a waiting list,” says Colonel Tony Gauvain (retired), chairman of the charity and a senior therapist in the PTSD Resolution programme.

The charity offers counselling with a unique 78 per cent success rate, Tony Gauvain says. It helps UK armed forces’ veterans, TA and reservists to relieve mental health problems resulting from military service and ease reintegration into a normal work & family life.

The “80:20 Appeal” has two goals: to end waiting lists for counselling; and secondly to offer extra support to the 20 per cent of trauma sufferers who do not respond to the initial programme. With the required funding, PTSD Resolution’s professional counsellors can then provide the help that is needed.

“ The PTSD Resolution national outreach programme has over 200 therapists. It is private, confidential, local and one-to-one. There is no referral needed, which reduces any sense of stigma. Counselling is brief and effective – as opposed to the medication, months of treatment or residential care that is too often the response to a problem that has a proven, compassionate resolution,” says Tony Gauvain.

Mental Health Disorders costing £25 billion each year - Trauma in the Workplace: New White Paper on Issues & Solutions

Organisations can find out about the potential impact of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) for their staffing policies and practices with a new White Paper ‘Trauma in the Workplace’, authored by UK military veteran’s charity Resolution. A free copy of the White Paper is available for download: www.ptsdresolution.org/Trauma_Awareness_Training.pdf

Colonel A Gauvain (Retired), a counsellor and chairman of PTSD Resolution, says:

“ Mental health disorders account for one in five of all work days lost and cost UK employers £25 billion each year. Trauma in particular can result in depression and behavioural problems for employees. Left untreated, the condition may cause avoidable accidents, extended sick-leave and dismissal - and represents a major legal liability for the employer.”

PTSD can result from an incident at work, he says; but also from an event outside the workplace, many years previously, with the effects only surfacing as a result of domestic or work pressures, for example.

Disturbingly, most managers are unable to recognise the symptoms of trauma, from research by the charity. This is why Resolution has introduced a half-day course in TATE, Trauma Awareness Training for Employers.

Resolution is a UK charity (No. 1133188) that offers free counselling to UK Armed Forces veterans and reservists. It also provides support for HR personnel and line managers in organisations to meet employers’ statutory obligations - and avoid the commercial impact and the personal cost to employees of trauma. 

The Trauma Awareness training course enables managers to recognise trauma symptoms; understand the effects on staff behaviour; engage with traumatised people to identify practical options; and find a clear route to resolving workplace difficulties caused by trauma.

A free copy of the White Paper is available for download – and also details of the half-day course in central London, Nov 29th 2012 – TATE Training - www.ptsdresolution.org

Please take part in this research project

No one knows how many ex-service personnel are suffering the symptoms of post-traumatic stress. The Government chooses to clinically isolate PTSD from associated symptoms of alchohol and drug dependency, thus ignoring the possibility of cause and effect.
The charity PTSD Resolution (www.ptsdresolution.org) is hosting a university research project to identify how many veterans are affected, to bring this to the attention of Government. If you are a Veteran please take part and go to http://bit.ly/daaoAX (it is entirely private and confidential).

Alcohol 'a problem for veterans' - I wonder why?

Some commentators see the new study by doctors from King's College London (May, 2010) on mental health in the forces as reassuring, in that it does not find an increase in the numbers suffering from PTSD (‘alcohol a problem for war veterans, study finds’ (Independent)). Others have pointed out that even if only 4% of Afghanistan returnees suffer PTSD that still means 7,000 troops will suffer (‘Tidal wave of Mental Trauma among Servicemen’ (Telegraph)).

Both these approaches miss the point: If, as the study suggests, some 13% of returnees report that they are ‘misusing’ alcohol, there will be a reason why they are doing this, and the reason, if they were not ‘misusing’ alcohol before going to Afghanistan, will be something to do with having served in the war zone.

Convention sees psychiatric disorders as separate entities, so someone might suffer from PTSD and be alcohol-dependent and the clinic, should he be lucky enough to attend one, would not necessarily connect the two.

In reality these things are intimately interconnected, as people tend to self-medicate with alcohol (or anything else they can get their hands on) in order to dull the symptoms that they suffer as a result of having been in combat.

Our experience at Resolution is that if you take a soldier who is having problems with alcohol you will almost always find post-traumatic symptoms as well – not bad enough to qualify for a diagnosis of PTSD but unpleasant enough to contribute to the drinking behaviour.

From this it seems fair to conclude that the figure for the number of PTSD cases is really not relevant to the problems that service personnel face after combat.

Proper care for returnees and later veterans requires that we ask the right questions of those who do not have a diagnosis and give those who have post-traumatic symptoms treatment that actually reduces the impact of their traumatic memories, to the point where they can get on with their lives without suffering from the anger, fear, depression and all the other symptoms that military service can produce.

The PTSD Resolution outreach programme helps veterans and TA struggling to reintegrate into a normal work & family life because of military post traumatic stress suffered as a result of service in the armed forces. http://www.ptsdresolution.org/