Our Training Programs Create Better Results

Our programs are designed to engage participants experientially.  They are not designed to lecture participants, leave them with a manual and check off the box that they have been trained.  We all know what happens to the information in that type of training.  The manual goes in a drawer, never to be seen again, until the person cleans out their desk when they leave your organization.  Our programs have been designed, over 10 years, to allow for consultation during the training as questions come up and to give participants the information and the motivation to change their current approach to working with veterans.

We present a unique opportunity for participants to learn from a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, who have specialized education, training and experience as mental health professionals as well as lived experience as military members and military spouses.  Most training is approached with first order change in mind, really, just a band aid for the lack of knowledge and deep understanding necessary to be effective with veterans living with PTSD.  Our programs are designed with second order change in mind, which is why they are experiential, reaching individuals in a way that lecture cannot.  In the PTSD Approach, participants come to a profound understanding of how their own attitudes as well as that of other people in the veteran's life and the veteran's own attitudes can help or hinder their recovery process.  In the PTSD Experience, participants are given examples of what symptoms look like, not just a laundry list of symptoms, so that they can understand what they are seeing.  Additionally, they are coached in de-escalation techniques and how to speak to the veteran about their experience without offending them or re-traumatizing them.

Participants of our programs leave with a new way to conceptualize their experience working with veterans and new language to support their learning.  You will find that your whole organization will be positively affected by the new language and understanding of themselves in the context of helping veterans.

Married to PTSD live trainings were established for

• Agencies

• Family Members

• Helping professionals

• Veterans Service Organizations

Please contact us about the development of a training to meet your specific needs. Our live trainings are not generic, we modify our trainings to meet your requirements. If you need a training we do not offer, let us know and we can develop a training for you. 

Substance abuse in military culture

This live training will help those who work with veterans understand why so many veterans have substance problems. The answer is in the military culture. Substance abuse is widely accepted in military and veteran communities. Often the substance use starts with the need to stay alert and survive. The government has often turned a blind eye or given substances to help with performance of our troops. This training will help you understand why it is so hard to give up the substance culture when they return to civilian status.

PTSD Experience

This interactive live training provides insight to how PTSD affects those who have it and those who live with it. Understand trauma, triggers, and attitudes that can help veterans and family members work through PTSD issues. Facilitators utilize research, personal, and real world experiences, somatic skills, and stories to illustrate why PTSD is so destructive and how it can be managed. You will learn to detect triggers and head off an event. You will learn to communicate with someone who has PTSD. You can get the WHAT to do from multiple sources on the internet. We discuss HOW to work successfully with and be married to PTSD.  

Suicide training for veteran families and helpers

In this live training, you will learn how to recognize a suicidal veteran and how to ask about the "S" word. This training is meant to help reduce the 20 veterans per day, and the 1 active duty member per day who commit suicide. This training is culturally specific for veterans and their families. We explain how the cultural piece plays a part in these suicides. If you work with veterans or are a family member of a veteran, this training is for you. 

Understanding the VA System: Training for families and helpers

In this training, you will learn about the Veterans Administration and what benefits are available and how to receive benefits for veterans. We will also discuss the requirements for benefits and who has them and who does not. We will discuss the issues those that work at the VA can’t discuss due to politics. The VA is a huge bureaucracy and hard to navigate. Families and veterans often struggle to understand the VA system. We will also discuss how to manage expectations and create a better VA experience for you and your loved one when dealing with the VA.