Doctors have been studying alternative treatment for PTSD for some time now. Acupuncture, meditation, and even K-9 companions are all some of the methods being employed and studied by more open-minded physicians and patients. There have been multiple studies by very reputable sources suggesting the effectiveness of alternative treatments for PTSD. The pentagon spent $5 million researching yoga, meditation, and animal companions as treatment for PTSD. PTSD is a diverse order, and thus requires diversity in treatment.
Acupuncture is a widely regarded, yet still largely unknown treatment method for PTSD. In the study, “Acupuncture for post-traumatic stress disorder: a randomized controlled pilot trial,” by physicians Hollifield M, Sinclair lian, Warner TD, Hammerschlag R, they concluded; “Acupuncture may be an efficacious and acceptable nonexposure treatment option for PTSD.” Jillian L Capodice LAc reports in her article “Acupuncture and [PTSD]” that 14 out of 16 patients self-reported reduced symptoms, in a non-clinical trial.
Expediency is another possible benefit of acupuncture treatment. Army psychiatric specialist, Col. Charles Engel, revealed that some early research seemed to imply that when soldiers with PTSD were treated with acupuncture, “improvements were relatively rapid and clinically significant.” Obviously there’s a lot of research to be done in order to discover the efficiency in which PTSD can be treated by acupuncture, but the need for research into this option is evident.
Use of mantram repetition, which is a form of meditation, also seemed to indicate a successful impact on relieving the symptoms of PTSD. As part of the “Veterans Health Administration Office Of Patient Are Services Technology Assessment Program” Elizabeth Adams, MPH, put together an article entitled “Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.” The article suggests that use of mantram repetition, saw 86% of program participants report “moderate to high satisfaction. The article concluded “Mantram is a promising, complementary intervention for treatment of PTSD in older Veterans, and Veterans were satisfied with the program. Further research in larger RCTs is warranted.”
Angel Morrow’s an Army Sgt. who worked on the front-lines as a medic. She saw a heart-breaking amount of death, but it was when a fellow soldier she had treated for PTSD, took his own life outside her office door, she began to suffer from the disorder herself.
“I did everything I could for him,” she recounts.
After suffering from severe unrelenting PTSD symptoms, that didn’t respond to medication, Morrows tried a different approach. Her approach was named Bianca, a pit bull who weighed in at 70 lbs.
“She was that little buddy I needed,” Morrow stated. “She gave me that sense of purpose I was lacking.”
There are countless other stories of pets helping ease the symptoms of PTSD. If a therapy helps one person, it’s worth it in the long run. Helping a police officer or soldier from suffering the symptoms of PTSD, is well-worth the cost of training and providing a service animal.
While there are still plenty of naysayers when it comes to alternative treatments of PTSD, there’s enough research and examples out there that indicate success, to deny it’s usefulness outright. Because of the promising results obtained using these methods, it seems probable homeopathic remedies will become a more common place treatment for PTSD. The more research is conducted, the more options we have, and the better chances we have to help our officers get well.
Blogger Emily Manke works for www.criminaljusticeschoolinfo.com and occasionally blogs for Legal Justice News.
