Military Sexual Trauma-VA provided in-patient treatment facilities list

 

 

The following is an example of my poor computer skills-BUT…is a very VERY IMPORTANT series of in-patient MST Treatment facilities provided by the Veterans Administration. The list provides criteria-and contact names and phone numbers and email address for person in charge of each various clinics.

This is deep stuff…important to the MST survivor…and very little of this is available-lucky for us there are others who know what this information means towards the help and health of the MST veteran.

MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA / SEXUAL TRAUMA RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT RESOURCES This list consists of programs identifying themselves as providing MST or sexual trauma-specific treatment in a residential or inpatient setting. Only programs open and actively accepting referrals are included, such that programs under development are not listed. Programs range from those solely dedicated to the treatment of sexual trauma; to those with a special track emphasizing the treatment of sexual trauma; to those with two or more staff members with expertise in sexual trauma who, in the context of a larger program not focused on sexual trauma, provide treatment targeting this issue. More detailed information about each program is provided on the pages following this summary list. VISN 1 VA Boston HCS/Jamaica Plain Campus, Boston, MA: Women Veterans’ Therapeutic Transitional Residence Program VA Boston HCS/Brockton Campus, Brockton, MA: Women’s Integrated Treatment & Recovery Program VISN 2 VA Western New York HCS/Batavia Campus, Batavia, NY: Women Veterans’ Residential Program VISN 3 VA New Jersey HCS, Lyons, NY: Women’s Military Sexual Trauma Residential Program VISN 5 VA Maryland HCS/Baltimore Division, Baltimore, MD: Dual Diagnosis PTSD/Substance Abuse PRRTP VISN 7 Augusta VAMC, Augusta, GA: MST Clinic & Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Program VISN 8 Bay Pines VAHCS, Bay Pines, FL: Center for Sexual Trauma Services VISN 10 Cincinnati VAMC, Cincinnati, OH: Residential PTSD Program VISN 12 Clement J. Zablocki VAMC, Milwaukee, WI: Rehabilitation and Transition Unit – Trauma Track North Chicago VAMC, North Chicago, IL: Stress Disorder Treatment Unit VISN 15 VA Eastern Kansas HCS/Topeka Division, Topeka, KS: Stress Disorder Treatment Program VISN 17 Central Texas Veterans HCS, Temple, TX: Women’s Trauma Recovery Center VISN 21 VA Palo Alto HCS/Menlo Park Division, Menlo Park, CA: Women’s Trauma Recovery Program VISN 22 VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, CA: “Renew” & “Bridges” Please see the pages that follow for more detailed information about each program. VISN 1 Facility: VA Boston HCS/Jamaica Plain Campus (Boston, MA) Type of program: PTSD Transitional Residence Program name: Women Veterans’ Therapeutic Transitional Residence Program (TRUST House) Phase of treatment targeted: Flexible, ranges from stabilization and skill-development to trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Veterans receive therapy through the Boston Women’s Stress Disorder Treatment Team, a clinic with an explicit emphasis on treating sexual trauma. TR staff also have expertise in this area. Notable admission criteria: Prefer 90 days sobriety; able to function independently; ability to work 20 hours/week; prefer 60 days without suicidal behavior. Some criteria are flexible depending on the individual case. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. Ask for commitment of at least 3 months though prefer veterans to stay for a year; maximum stay is 18 months. Contact information: Erica Sharkansky, PhD – (857) 364 – 4925; erica.sharkansky@va.gov Facility: VA Boston Healthcare System, Brockton Campus (Brockton, MA) Type of program: Women’s Residential Program Program name: Women’s Integrated Treatment & Recovery Program Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on integrated treatment of substance abuse and trauma; group therapy focuses on skills building for maintaining abstinence and managing PTSD symptoms. MST-specific treatment available: Individual therapy focused on processing sexually traumatic experiences using a CPT model with and without exposure. Staff members have expertise in the area of sexual trauma. Notable admission criteria: Commitment to abstinence; medically stable; linked to outpatient care and have a discharge plan; no acute psychotic symptoms, suicidal or homicidal ideation. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions with 8-week length of stay which may be extended to 90 days under certain circumstances, if for example, a veteran awaiting admission to a subsequent program needs to meet criteria for a length of sobriety greater than 56 days or is awaiting housing. Contact information: Sharon L. Baker, Ph.D. – (774) 826-1312; sharon.baker3@va.gov VISN 2: Facility: VA Western New York HCS/Batavia Campus (Batavia, NY) Type of program: Women’s Residential Program Program name: Women Veterans’ Residential Program Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on trauma processing as well as intensive self-regulatory and interpersonal skill development. MST-specific treatment available: Individual and group therapy focused on processing sexually traumatic experiences. Staff members have expertise in the area of sexual trauma. Currently have mixed-trauma cohorts, though at times cohorts end up being entirely composed of veterans with sexual trauma histories. Notable admission criteria: 30 days sobriety; medically stable; linked to outpatient care and have a discharge plan; no acute suicidal or homicidal ideation. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Utilize a cohort system with a 10 week length of stay. If the cohort has openings, short-term stays of one to two weeks are possible for veterans wishing to focus on skill-building and supportive therapy. Contact information: Terri Julian, Ph.D. – (585) 297-1205; terri.julian@va.gov VISN 3: Facility: VA New Jersey HCS, Lyons, NJ Type of program: MST Residential Treatment Program Program name: Women’s Treatment Unit Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on skill building and trauma processing. Group treatment is central with individual psychotherapy for processing of traumatic material. PE and CPT available. MST-specific treatment available: Program as a whole is devoted to MST treatment. Childhood trauma, combat-related PTSD, and SUD also addressed as needed. Admission criteria: No psychotic symptoms; Not in need of detox from drugs or alcohol; ability to work intensively in group format; no recent violent behavior; cannot present as danger to self or others; must be able to manage own medications; must be medically stable. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. Average length of stay 6-8 weeks Contact information: Suzanne Loftus, Psy.D. – (908) 647-0180 ext 5896 VISN 5 Facility: VA Maryland HCS/Baltimore Division (Baltimore, MD) Type of program: Psychosocial Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program with Focus on Comorbid PTSD & Substance Use Disorders Program name: Dual Diagnosis PTSD/Substance Abuse PRRTP Phase of treatment targeted: Flexible, ranges from psychoeducation and skill-development to trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Multiple staff members with expertise in treating sexual trauma using empirically supported treatments. Individual and group therapy. Notable admission criteria: PTSD and substance abuse/dependence; prefer 30 days sobriety and that have had at least one significant period of sobriety within the past year; ability to function independently in daily life; psychiatrically and medically stable. Treat both men and women? Yes. Have both mixed and single-sex groups. Women stay in individual rooms with private, non-attached bathrooms. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. 45 – 56 day stay. Contact information: Lorie Morris, Psy.D. — (410) 605-7418; lorie.morris@va.gov VISN 7 Facility: Augusta VAMC (Augusta, GA) Type of program: MST Clinic in conjunction with Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Program Program name: MST Clinic & Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Program Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Veterans receive therapy through the outpatient MST clinic where staff have expertise in the treatment of sexual trauma. Notable admission criteria: No pending legal issues; no physical assaults in past six months; current sobriety; not taking any controlled medications more than two times/day. Treat both men and women? Yes. Women stay in lockable two- to four-person rooms. Some women-only groups, but others are mixed-sex. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. Length of stay for up to 120 days. Contact information: Lorraine Braswell, Ph.D. — (706) 733-0188 x7735; lorraine.braswell@va.gov VISN 8 Facility: Bay Pines VAHCS (Bay Pines, FL) Type of program: MST Residential Program Program name: Center for Sexual Trauma Services, Residential Program Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on trauma work. MST-specific treatment available: Program as a whole is devoted to MST treatment. Patients are assigned a primary therapist who works with them to plan treatment based on individual needs and strengths. Treatment interventions may include Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Skills Training, CBT Group, Therapeutic Recreation, Patient Education and other interventions. Notable admission criteria: History of MST (though can focus on any sexual trauma while in the program); cannot present a danger to self or others and must be able to manage the residential environment. Treat both men and women? Yes. Roommates are same-sex, but men and women are housed in the same area of the Dom and share the common living areas. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions; variable length of stay based on the individual’s treatment plan. Contact information: Judith Connelly, PsyD. (727) 398-6661, x 7297; Judith.Connelly2@va.gov or Carol O’Brien, Ph.D. – (727) 398-6661 x7381; carol.obrien1@va.gov VISN 10 Facility: Cincinnati VAMC (Cincinnati, OH) Type of program: PTSD Day Hospital with lodging Program name: Residential PTSD Program Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Most staff have expertise in sexual trauma. Individual and group treatment; veterans working on sexual trauma get one extra individual therapy session a week as needed. Notable admission criteria: PTSD; 30 days sobriety (will, however, take veterans on benzodiazepines and/or methadone); no active mania or psychosis; no medical or legal issues; no registered sex offenders; able to tolerate group treatment and share trauma accounts in individual therapy. Treat both men and women? Yes. Men and women with separate living areas but eat in the cafeteria together. No mixed-sex therapy groups. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Cohort admissions. Length of stay of 7 weeks. Contact information: For referrals, Jennifer Lewis – (513) 861-3100 x3310; jennifer.lewis2@va.gov VISN 12 Facility: Clement J. Zablocki VAMC (Milwaukee, WI) Type of program: PTSD DOM Program name: Rehabilitation and Transition Unit – Trauma Track Phase of treatment targeted: Flexible, depends upon veterans’ previous trauma work. MST-specific treatment available: Staff with expertise in sexual trauma by virtue of the high prevalence of it in the program. Veterans attend general programming but individual and group treatment would be focused on the sexual trauma. Notable admission criteria: 30 days sobriety; need to be capable of independent living and able to manage living with others. Treat both men and women? Yes. Mixed-sex groups and living arrangements. One all-female support group where all participants have a history of sexual trauma. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. Length of stay of 6-9 months. Contact information: For referrals, Katie DeYoung at the Central Intake Unit – (414) 384-2000 x 41986. For more information, Vickie Wiese, Ph.D. — x 42367; vickie.wiese@va.gov Facility: North Chicago VAMC (North Chicago, IL) Type of program: PTSD Residential Rehabilitation Program Program name: Stress Disorder Treatment Unit Phase of treatment targeted: Flexible, from skills building to trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Individual therapy; clinicians have developed expertise in working with MST, given the number of sexual trauma cases they tend to see. Notable admission criteria: Combat-related PTSD (combat broadly defined); SC for PTSD; minimum 30 days sobriety; medically stable; no active suicidal ideation in the past 60 days; admission can’t be court-related; must be in outpatient treatment; prefer no benzodiazepines or anti-psychotic medications. Current PTSD symptoms must be too severe to be treated on an outpatient basis. Treat both men and women? Yes. Women with private room, but men and women participate in groups together. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. Length of stay varies but average is around 35 days. Contact information: Karen Paddock – (847) 688-1900 x 83312; karen.paddock@va.gov VISN 15 Facility: VA Eastern Kansas HCS/Topeka Division (Topeka, KS) Type of program: Specialized Inpatient PTSD Unit Program name: Stress Disorder Treatment Program Phase of treatment targeted: Ranges from skill building to trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Though have ongoing admissions, try to cluster individuals with sexual trauma-related issues into “mini-cohorts.” Staff with training in treatment of sexual trauma. Notable admission criteria: 30 days sobriety; military trauma of some type; treatment can’t be court-ordered; no acute suicidal or homicidal ideation; no acute psychosis. Treat both men and women? Yes, but see relatively few women. Women and men are potentially, but not necessarily, in the same cohort. They participate in psychoeducational groups together but decisions about participation in trauma processing groups together are made on a case by case basis, depending on the size of the female mini-cohort. Women room together as appropriate but typically have private rooms with their own bathroom. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. Length of stay of 7 weeks. Contact information: For referrals, Terry Falck, M.A. – (785) 350-3111 x 52139; for more information, Jonathan Farrell-Higgins, Ph.D. – x 52118; jonathan.farrell-higgins@va.gov VISN 17 Facility: Central Texas Veterans HCS (Temple, TX) Type of program: MST Residential Treatment Program Program name: Women’s Trauma Recovery Center Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Program as a whole is devoted to MST treatment. Notable admission criteria: History of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault while in military (for recently deployed women, sexual harassment only with a history of other military trauma is acceptable); no substance abuse for past 30 days; no suicidal or para-suicidal behavior for past 30 days; no acute inpatient psychiatric admission for past 30 days; no uncontrolled mania or psychosis; not significant organic impairment; no ongoing criminal or violent behavior. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Cohort admissions. Length of stay of 7 weeks. Contact information: Delicia Mclean, Ph.D. – (254) 743-1720; delicia.mclean@va.gov VISN 21 Facility: VA Palo Alto HCS/Menlo Park Division (Menlo Park, CA) Type of program: PTSD Residential Program Program name: Women’s Trauma Recovery Program (WTRP) Phase of treatment targeted: Two tracks: 1) trauma processing; and 2) intensive skills building. MST-specific treatment available: Staff with expertise in the treatment of sexual trauma, particularly given the high prevalence of sexual trauma among veterans in the program. Notable admission criteria: Alcohol and illegal substance free for 5 days and off of benzodiazepines; problems are primarily due to PTSD; no active psychosis; no unresolved legal issues; no major medical problems that will interfere with participation in program. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. 60 day to 90 day length of stay. Contact information: Kristen Marchak, LSW, Admissions Coordinator – (650) 493-5000 x 24692, kristen.marchak2@va.gov , Tasha Souter, MD – (650) 493-5000 x23158; tasha.souter@va.gov; Dorene Loew, PhD – (650) 493-5000 x23237; dorene.loew@va.gov VISN 22 Facility: VA Long Beach Healthcare System (Long Beach, CA) Type of program: Sexual Trauma Residential Program Program name: “Renew”; (for information on “Bridges”, see box on ‘rolling vs cohort admissions’) Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on skill development and trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Program as a whole is devoted to treatment of sexual trauma. Individual and group treatment. Holistic focus. Notable admission criteria: 6 months sobriety; 6 months without psychiatric hospitalization; 6 months without suicide attempt or self-injury; ability to remain for the duration of the program. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Cohort admissions. Length of stay of 12 weeks. Also, potential for participation in “Bridges”: 12 week, rolling admissions residential and/or outpatient aftercare program consisting of 12 hours/week of community activity and support groups. Contact information: Lori Katz, PhD (program director) — (562) 826-8000 x4380; lori.katz@va.gov; or Sandy Dee Hoague (program coordinator) — x4820. MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA / SEXUAL TRAUMA RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT RESOURCES This list consists of programs identifying themselves as providing MST or sexual trauma-specific treatment in a residential or inpatient setting. Only programs open and actively accepting referrals are included, such that programs under development are not listed. Programs range from those solely dedicated to the treatment of sexual trauma; to those with a special track emphasizing the treatment of sexual trauma; to those with two or more staff members with expertise in sexual trauma who, in the context of a larger program not focused on sexual trauma, provide treatment targeting this issue. More detailed information about each program is provided on the pages following this summary list. VISN 1 VA Boston HCS/Jamaica Plain Campus, Boston, MA: Women Veterans’ Therapeutic Transitional Residence Program VA Boston HCS/Brockton Campus, Brockton, MA: Women’s Integrated Treatment & Recovery Program VISN 2 VA Western New York HCS/Batavia Campus, Batavia, NY: Women Veterans’ Residential Program VISN 3 VA New Jersey HCS, Lyons, NY: Women’s Military Sexual Trauma Residential Program VISN 5 VA Maryland HCS/Baltimore Division, Baltimore, MD: Dual Diagnosis PTSD/Substance Abuse PRRTP VISN 7 Augusta VAMC, Augusta, GA: MST Clinic & Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Program VISN 8 Bay Pines VAHCS, Bay Pines, FL: Center for Sexual Trauma Services VISN 10 Cincinnati VAMC, Cincinnati, OH: Residential PTSD Program VISN 12 Clement J. Zablocki VAMC, Milwaukee, WI: Rehabilitation and Transition Unit – Trauma Track North Chicago VAMC, North Chicago, IL: Stress Disorder Treatment Unit VISN 15 VA Eastern Kansas HCS/Topeka Division, Topeka, KS: Stress Disorder Treatment Program VISN 17 Central Texas Veterans HCS, Temple, TX: Women’s Trauma Recovery Center VISN 21 VA Palo Alto HCS/Menlo Park Division, Menlo Park, CA: Women’s Trauma Recovery Program VISN 22 VA Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach, CA: “Renew” & “Bridges” Please see the pages that follow for more detailed information about each program. VISN 1 Facility: VA Boston HCS/Jamaica Plain Campus (Boston, MA) Type of program: PTSD Transitional Residence Program name: Women Veterans’ Therapeutic Transitional Residence Program (TRUST House) Phase of treatment targeted: Flexible, ranges from stabilization and skill-development to trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Veterans receive therapy through the Boston Women’s Stress Disorder Treatment Team, a clinic with an explicit emphasis on treating sexual trauma. TR staff also have expertise in this area. Notable admission criteria: Prefer 90 days sobriety; able to function independently; ability to work 20 hours/week; prefer 60 days without suicidal behavior. Some criteria are flexible depending on the individual case. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. Ask for commitment of at least 3 months though prefer veterans to stay for a year; maximum stay is 18 months. Contact information: Erica Sharkansky, PhD – (857) 364 – 4925; erica.sharkansky@va.gov Facility: VA Boston Healthcare System, Brockton Campus (Brockton, MA) Type of program: Women’s Residential Program Program name: Women’s Integrated Treatment & Recovery Program Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on integrated treatment of substance abuse and trauma; group therapy focuses on skills building for maintaining abstinence and managing PTSD symptoms. MST-specific treatment available: Individual therapy focused on processing sexually traumatic experiences using a CPT model with and without exposure. Staff members have expertise in the area of sexual trauma. Notable admission criteria: Commitment to abstinence; medically stable; linked to outpatient care and have a discharge plan; no acute psychotic symptoms, suicidal or homicidal ideation. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions with 8-week length of stay which may be extended to 90 days under certain circumstances, if for example, a veteran awaiting admission to a subsequent program needs to meet criteria for a length of sobriety greater than 56 days or is awaiting housing. Contact information: Sharon L. Baker, Ph.D. – (774) 826-1312; sharon.baker3@va.gov VISN 2: Facility: VA Western New York HCS/Batavia Campus (Batavia, NY) Type of program: Women’s Residential Program Program name: Women Veterans’ Residential Program Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on trauma processing as well as intensive self-regulatory and interpersonal skill development. MST-specific treatment available: Individual and group therapy focused on processing sexually traumatic experiences. Staff members have expertise in the area of sexual trauma. Currently have mixed-trauma cohorts, though at times cohorts end up being entirely composed of veterans with sexual trauma histories. Notable admission criteria: 30 days sobriety; medically stable; linked to outpatient care and have a discharge plan; no acute suicidal or homicidal ideation. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Utilize a cohort system with a 10 week length of stay. If the cohort has openings, short-term stays of one to two weeks are possible for veterans wishing to focus on skill-building and supportive therapy. Contact information: Terri Julian, Ph.D. – (585) 297-1205; terri.julian@va.gov VISN 3: Facility: VA New Jersey HCS, Lyons, NJ Type of program: MST Residential Treatment Program Program name: Women’s Treatment Unit Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on skill building and trauma processing. Group treatment is central with individual psychotherapy for processing of traumatic material. PE and CPT available. MST-specific treatment available: Program as a whole is devoted to MST treatment. Childhood trauma, combat-related PTSD, and SUD also addressed as needed. Admission criteria: No psychotic symptoms; Not in need of detox from drugs or alcohol; ability to work intensively in group format; no recent violent behavior; cannot present as danger to self or others; must be able to manage own medications; must be medically stable. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. Average length of stay 6-8 weeks Contact information: Suzanne Loftus, Psy.D. – (908) 647-0180 ext 5896 VISN 5 Facility: VA Maryland HCS/Baltimore Division (Baltimore, MD) Type of program: Psychosocial Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program with Focus on Comorbid PTSD & Substance Use Disorders Program name: Dual Diagnosis PTSD/Substance Abuse PRRTP Phase of treatment targeted: Flexible, ranges from psychoeducation and skill-development to trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Multiple staff members with expertise in treating sexual trauma using empirically supported treatments. Individual and group therapy. Notable admission criteria: PTSD and substance abuse/dependence; prefer 30 days sobriety and that have had at least one significant period of sobriety within the past year; ability to function independently in daily life; psychiatrically and medically stable. Treat both men and women? Yes. Have both mixed and single-sex groups. Women stay in individual rooms with private, non-attached bathrooms. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. 45 – 56 day stay. Contact information: Lorie Morris, Psy.D. — (410) 605-7418; lorie.morris@va.gov VISN 7 Facility: Augusta VAMC (Augusta, GA) Type of program: MST Clinic in conjunction with Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Program Program name: MST Clinic & Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Program Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Veterans receive therapy through the outpatient MST clinic where staff have expertise in the treatment of sexual trauma. Notable admission criteria: No pending legal issues; no physical assaults in past six months; current sobriety; not taking any controlled medications more than two times/day. Treat both men and women? Yes. Women stay in lockable two- to four-person rooms. Some women-only groups, but others are mixed-sex. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. Length of stay for up to 120 days. Contact information: Lorraine Braswell, Ph.D. — (706) 733-0188 x7735; lorraine.braswell@va.gov VISN 8 Facility: Bay Pines VAHCS (Bay Pines, FL) Type of program: MST Residential Program Program name: Center for Sexual Trauma Services, Residential Program Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on trauma work. MST-specific treatment available: Program as a whole is devoted to MST treatment. Patients are assigned a primary therapist who works with them to plan treatment based on individual needs and strengths. Treatment interventions may include Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Skills Training, CBT Group, Therapeutic Recreation, Patient Education and other interventions. Notable admission criteria: History of MST (though can focus on any sexual trauma while in the program); cannot present a danger to self or others and must be able to manage the residential environment. Treat both men and women? Yes. Roommates are same-sex, but men and women are housed in the same area of the Dom and share the common living areas. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions; variable length of stay based on the individual’s treatment plan. Contact information: Judith Connelly, PsyD. (727) 398-6661, x 7297; Judith.Connelly2@va.gov or Carol O’Brien, Ph.D. – (727) 398-6661 x7381; carol.obrien1@va.gov VISN 10 Facility: Cincinnati VAMC (Cincinnati, OH) Type of program: PTSD Day Hospital with lodging Program name: Residential PTSD Program Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Most staff have expertise in sexual trauma. Individual and group treatment; veterans working on sexual trauma get one extra individual therapy session a week as needed. Notable admission criteria: PTSD; 30 days sobriety (will, however, take veterans on benzodiazepines and/or methadone); no active mania or psychosis; no medical or legal issues; no registered sex offenders; able to tolerate group treatment and share trauma accounts in individual therapy. Treat both men and women? Yes. Men and women with separate living areas but eat in the cafeteria together. No mixed-sex therapy groups. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Cohort admissions. Length of stay of 7 weeks. Contact information: For referrals, Jennifer Lewis – (513) 861-3100 x3310; jennifer.lewis2@va.gov VISN 12 Facility: Clement J. Zablocki VAMC (Milwaukee, WI) Type of program: PTSD DOM Program name: Rehabilitation and Transition Unit – Trauma Track Phase of treatment targeted: Flexible, depends upon veterans’ previous trauma work. MST-specific treatment available: Staff with expertise in sexual trauma by virtue of the high prevalence of it in the program. Veterans attend general programming but individual and group treatment would be focused on the sexual trauma. Notable admission criteria: 30 days sobriety; need to be capable of independent living and able to manage living with others. Treat both men and women? Yes. Mixed-sex groups and living arrangements. One all-female support group where all participants have a history of sexual trauma. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. Length of stay of 6-9 months. Contact information: For referrals, Katie DeYoung at the Central Intake Unit – (414) 384-2000 x 41986. For more information, Vickie Wiese, Ph.D. — x 42367; vickie.wiese@va.gov Facility: North Chicago VAMC (North Chicago, IL) Type of program: PTSD Residential Rehabilitation Program Program name: Stress Disorder Treatment Unit Phase of treatment targeted: Flexible, from skills building to trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Individual therapy; clinicians have developed expertise in working with MST, given the number of sexual trauma cases they tend to see. Notable admission criteria: Combat-related PTSD (combat broadly defined); SC for PTSD; minimum 30 days sobriety; medically stable; no active suicidal ideation in the past 60 days; admission can’t be court-related; must be in outpatient treatment; prefer no benzodiazepines or anti-psychotic medications. Current PTSD symptoms must be too severe to be treated on an outpatient basis. Treat both men and women? Yes. Women with private room, but men and women participate in groups together. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. Length of stay varies but average is around 35 days. Contact information: Karen Paddock – (847) 688-1900 x 83312; karen.paddock@va.gov VISN 15 Facility: VA Eastern Kansas HCS/Topeka Division (Topeka, KS) Type of program: Specialized Inpatient PTSD Unit Program name: Stress Disorder Treatment Program Phase of treatment targeted: Ranges from skill building to trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Though have ongoing admissions, try to cluster individuals with sexual trauma-related issues into “mini-cohorts.” Staff with training in treatment of sexual trauma. Notable admission criteria: 30 days sobriety; military trauma of some type; treatment can’t be court-ordered; no acute suicidal or homicidal ideation; no acute psychosis. Treat both men and women? Yes, but see relatively few women. Women and men are potentially, but not necessarily, in the same cohort. They participate in psychoeducational groups together but decisions about participation in trauma processing groups together are made on a case by case basis, depending on the size of the female mini-cohort. Women room together as appropriate but typically have private rooms with their own bathroom. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. Length of stay of 7 weeks. Contact information: For referrals, Terry Falck, M.A. – (785) 350-3111 x 52139; for more information, Jonathan Farrell-Higgins, Ph.D. – x 52118; jonathan.farrell-higgins@va.gov VISN 17 Facility: Central Texas Veterans HCS (Temple, TX) Type of program: MST Residential Treatment Program Program name: Women’s Trauma Recovery Center Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Program as a whole is devoted to MST treatment. Notable admission criteria: History of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault while in military (for recently deployed women, sexual harassment only with a history of other military trauma is acceptable); no substance abuse for past 30 days; no suicidal or para-suicidal behavior for past 30 days; no acute inpatient psychiatric admission for past 30 days; no uncontrolled mania or psychosis; not significant organic impairment; no ongoing criminal or violent behavior. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Cohort admissions. Length of stay of 7 weeks. Contact information: Delicia Mclean, Ph.D. – (254) 743-1720; delicia.mclean@va.gov VISN 21 Facility: VA Palo Alto HCS/Menlo Park Division (Menlo Park, CA) Type of program: PTSD Residential Program Program name: Women’s Trauma Recovery Program (WTRP) Phase of treatment targeted: Two tracks: 1) trauma processing; and 2) intensive skills building. MST-specific treatment available: Staff with expertise in the treatment of sexual trauma, particularly given the high prevalence of sexual trauma among veterans in the program. Notable admission criteria: Alcohol and illegal substance free for 5 days and off of benzodiazepines; problems are primarily due to PTSD; no active psychosis; no unresolved legal issues; no major medical problems that will interfere with participation in program. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Rolling admissions. 60 day to 90 day length of stay. Contact information: Kristen Marchak, LSW, Admissions Coordinator – (650) 493-5000 x 24692, kristen.marchak2@va.gov , Tasha Souter, MD – (650) 493-5000 x23158; tasha.souter@va.gov; Dorene Loew, PhD – (650) 493-5000 x23237; dorene.loew@va.gov VISN 22 Facility: VA Long Beach Healthcare System (Long Beach, CA) Type of program: Sexual Trauma Residential Program Program name: “Renew”; (for information on “Bridges”, see box on ‘rolling vs cohort admissions’) Phase of treatment targeted: Emphasis on skill development and trauma processing. MST-specific treatment available: Program as a whole is devoted to treatment of sexual trauma. Individual and group treatment. Holistic focus. Notable admission criteria: 6 months sobriety; 6 months without psychiatric hospitalization; 6 months without suicide attempt or self-injury; ability to remain for the duration of the program. Treat both men and women? Women only. Rolling vs cohort admissions & length of program: Cohort admissions. Length of stay of 12 weeks. Also, potential for participation in “Bridges”: 12 week, rolling admissions residential and/or outpatient aftercare program consisting of 12 hours/week of community activity and support groups. Contact information: Lori Katz, PhD (program director) — (562) 826-8000 x4380; lori.katz@va.gov; or Sandy Dee Hoague (program coordinator) — x4820.

the dung beetle…

the dung beetle-hiding its doo

Originally uploaded by jayfherron

 

 

I am not a specialist in entomology so I do not know the proper scientific name for this beetle-but,it is easy to just call them dung beetles!

To give you the best layman’s education about this creature is that they locate a mound of poop somewhere and take on the job to dice it up into smaller pieces-although at times three times larger than the beetle itself. They roll this chunk of poop-sometimes several yards away from the original pile and they ’sink’ it into a burrow they build on site.

I don’t know what regions these beetles thrive in-I know here in Florida they do offer a short term moment of entertainment-the whole idea of hoarding  chunks of poop is comical-just as watching these determined little bugs work the things along.

Let me tell you how I came across this guy.

This past weekend I was invited to guest at a beach house-a very high class celebrity class home. The home was built right on the Atlantic shore near St.Augustine Florida. This type of real estate is not cheap-the entire street my hosts had built on was wall to wall million dollar homes. Right across the street were individual beach access boardwalks. Looking down north or south at the horizon one can see hundreds of these boardwalks to protect the sea oats-all individually costing the homeowners thousands of dollars to construct.

The dung beetle was found at the entrance of one of these boardwalks…an interest note is of all the people that bring their dogs to the beach,and sure enough-the dog poop is obvious…all the while beach goers run and play bare footed risking a plop into a poodle bomb. The dog poop is why the dung beetle is there.

My friend and I stood in awe watching this little guy rolling his take along. Miniature sand dunes prevented him a speedy job of ease-he worked his little legs off shoving this lump up and over the challenging ramp-and as he neared the top the lump would be out of its control and would roll in no direct way to the bottom-just inches away,but mountains to this bug,and sometimes in the direction he just worked so hard to keep behind him.

Just to give you a sense of what I am talking about-the dung beetles footprints begin at the lower left corner of the photograph and and you can see the beetle in the center of the photo-the dark dot,and laying barely visible next to him is the lump of poop-slightly hidden and rather sandy- he worked so hard to move there.

A couple walked up…”what are you looking at”?  was the question. “A poop beetle rolling a turd” was our response. They began to watch too-laughing as the beetle the lump at the top of its dune and the lump rolled away from its owner….ooohs and ahhhs and giggles were made. Another couple walks up-understand,we are standing at the entrance of the boardwalk that leads to the beach,so traffic was picking up!

“What is it…what are you looking at”? the new couple asked.  ” A beetle rolling along a big piece of poop” was our groups reply. There we were-six grown adult people-standing there watching the feats of this determined bug.

I started to take in the surroundings-I’ve seen hundreds of these guys in action. That’s why there’s no worry about stepping in dog poop in at my place-nature takes care of everything in simple ways. Here we were-my pal and I guests in our beach front home,but these couples had spent quite a sum to rent one of these homes for the week-one couple said they were from Maryland and never saw such a beetle.

I couldn’t help pointing out the folly in the whole scene. I said something about how funny it was that folks desire to come to the ocean because it is a beautiful place and unique to many who have no access to the shore…and I said it is so funny that here we were surrounded by millions of dollars in homes-pointing out the expense it is to come to the beach-and here we were,standing just yards away from the ocean watching a beetle roll this piece of poop.

Well…the folks didn’t wish to be a part of the humor-so they hurried along up the ramp along the boardwalk to the beach. If only their neighbors back home were to hear of the beetle.

My pal and I stood watching for a while longer-laughing about the truth of what I just said. Interesting-we as humans desire the luxury of wealth and to be able to have a house with porches facing the ocean view…and here is this beetle just as close to the shore as we were. All it cared about was getting that lump of poop to a safe spot-I suppose for a source of food,what else could a dung beetle want? It did not give one blink of an eyes concern for the wealth that surrounded it. It was not even concerned with us watching it.

That thing stuck in my head for most of the day. It reminded me of the monk I once met back in the 70’s at a rock festival of sorts. We were all around a camp fire drinking and talking and I mentioned I owned five acres just walking distance from where we were sitting. The monk said I owned nothing-I argued that I did,but he insisted that I owned nothing. Later that night I stepped off into the woods to pee-and I was standing there looking up at the stars and out of the darkness came this voice…he said that I owned all of those stars. It was the monk I argued with before-he told me there was no way to physically own anything. He said everything was spiritually mine-no matter where I was or what I was seeing…all of that belonged to me. He assured me I did not own five acres-I only owned what I see.

There is a proverb in the bible (Proverbs 30:24-28) that says there are four things which are little upon the earth,but the are exceeding wise-they  are the ant,the locust and a spider,along with a small critter like a badger.

Thinking about that beetle and all those riches that surrounded us consumed me. I remember those beaches from back in the 1970’s when we could drive along the coastal highway and just choose a spot to go through the sea oaks (another part of foilage-no longer there) and have a great private spot to enjoy the surf. You could drive all the distance from St.Augustine down to Daytona Beach-and barely miss seeing the ocean from your car. Not any more.

Who is the richest? Who can build the biggest and better-and forget the sea oaks?

The dung beetle! His life is the richest!

Fathers Day 1970

IMG_0685

Originally uploaded by jayfherron

This is an old story to some, but an always story to me.

Today is Fathers Day. It was 39 years ago today that I came to live in Florida. There was no plan to it-the night before I had no idea I would be standing hundreds of miles from where I was at the moment.

I always maintain that it was angels that took over the operation of my life that night-39 years ago. The day before I had been interrogated by detectives-I fear I was going to jail. I was guilty of being strong-armed into stealing for another employee at a department store we worked at.

It was easy for someone to strong-arm me. I had been taught the lessons of how to avoid pain while in barracks D-there I was strong-armed into doing myriad sickening things.

I know the detectives promised I was going to jail. The only comfort they gave me was to turn in the other man and things would go easier for me.

All I could see was barracks D. Jail would have sealed my fate-I would have been broken more there.

The detectives gave me the weekend to think about it.

I don’t even know how I ended up at the going away party. I did not even know the fellow the party was for-his purpose for being in my life  lasted less than 24 hours. His part was facilitated by the angels.

It was the days of blue highways. Interstate 95 was hardly existent between Richmond and South Carolina so he drove us through what are now called the back roads-once upon a time the real highway.

I can’t even really explain how I got the ride-that is why my only explaination is because of the angels. We reached Jacksonville right after daylight. By this point it had already been explained to me that my driver was picking up some cousins and they were going to a beach camp their family owned-I was not invited,but the offer of a ride further south was offered.

They took me from Jacksonville to Gainesville-from there they cut east towards the beach. They dropped me off at the intersection-the only harbor was a cemetery tucked in behind a tall white wall hidden with ivy and shrubs.

I spent my first day in Florida in a Jewish cemetery-Fathers Day 1970.

I want to explain-I gained nothing by what was stolen back home. Another person recognized that I could be controlled-and that person used me to steal for him. Stealing is not something I wanted to do-I was forced with my arm twisted behind my back to swipe money from cash boxes. I had only three months before been released from duty in the Navy-my last two months were spent in a detention barracks-and there I became a victim and spent nearly all of that time with my arm twisted behind my back and forced to do things I never wanted to do.

The cemetery was a place of peace!

My instinct had me call a man I knew from home-he had been kind to me in the past and some how I knew I could trust him. The phone call was the grace shown by angels-my friend had a brother that lived in a small town near where I was…I had a place to go.

The evening of Fathers Day I saw the sunset standing in that graveyard. Later that night my friends brother came and rescued me. He took me to the town of Micanopy. In the dark it was not easy to see how small the place really was-but coming from Washington DC the day before this town was asleep at 9 PM.

I woke the following day to the sounds of the street in front of the building where I had slept. The peacefulness of the sounds and the smells-and the view of a small quaint town was there waiting.

I met people there that influenced me the rest of my life. Peaceful good people. I know it was angels that led me here.

Today is my day to visit the cemetery. I’ve gone there almost every year-last year I could not gain entry,this year I have the combination for the lock…39 years ago it was open to all-but time has changed everything.

I never want to loose grasp of what happened-and why everything is the way it is. To spend my first day of the beginning of my new life in the graveyard was majestic in its doing-the way the angels arranged that lesson. To awake the following day in the surroundings that greeted me-all of that finely orchestrated in a heavenly way to save me from what could have been if I returned to talk to the detectives.

catching up…

IMG_0679

Originally uploaded by jayfherron

The past two months have been blank…then I return home to what should have been a time of relaxation did not work out as such-I became fatigued on my return flight from Hawaii. That wore me down where I got sick-and stayed sick and tired for a number of weeks.
Then the computer died-or,perhaps,caught that I was tired and it bogged up. That meant a call to the Dell Indian who vacuumed the thing bone dry removing with it my photographs and certain bookmarks and my will to want to!

I have not lost the motivation to write. I have come to a point where writing my story has got to come to an end somewhere-I said this before…this is not really meant to be about me-although what happened to me is important for others to understand. In basics-the reader just needs to read back and the whole story is there. Also ,what I am saying here seems to have had influence on others-so I don’t want to end it-writing! I would like to transform into hopefully helping other veterans-survivors of MST to approach the long battle to get what is rightfully belongs to them…admission-acknowledgment from the military that you were indeed victimized on their watch.

It would be better to see the attackers convicted. I know that is asking for a little much-but I do feel emotions from having papers saying that MST did occur and that I had no blame in what took place. No blame being because I was in a detention barracks and that I had done nothing to warrant being there.

I’m not an educated person so I don’t have all these powers of a degree and fellowships to give me a boost in becoming an advocate for others. Actually-I’m thankful in some ways that I’m not a degree scholar. I happen to see a hole in the way certain classes of veterans are treated-and perhaps a gap in how a survivor sees themselves as a veteran. I see this from the perspective of a survivor-being a male survivor myself.

What I do see are men in position as advocates-sanctioned by the individual states Veterans Affairs department…uneducated men particularly where the crime of rape and sexual assault is considered.

What I will continue to advocate for is a change in how MST survivors appeal for medical and financial benefits. I will keep shouting the best way I can to hopefully be heard on behalf of change…military sexual trauma -MST (any sexual trauma) is horrific to live with. Sexual attacks change the victim so deeply-fear consumes the survivor.

To send an MST survivor through a process of appealing for compensation where they are required to seek the confidence of a veterans advocate who may not ever understand the details of a rape-is wrong.

The way the system is set up every veteran who has been injured in military service must file the beginning papers for a benefit claim with a Veterans Affairs (BVA) officer in the home county of the veteran. Every veteran! This includes a claim for MST.

For those that do come forward-the veteran who responds to the question of unwanted sexual contact,they most likely would be doing so at a veterans hospital. They rountinely ask the question during a scheduled physical-yet the veteran might find other channels to find a confidential ear.

When the question is answered ‘yes’ there should be an automatic open avenue for the MST survivor to go through. A medical professional should be in place instead of a BVA representative-the MST survivor should be treated with sensitive attention to his or her injury and case.

I was sent to my local BVA representative and he was challenged to confusion as why homosexuals would need to rape each other-he was certain my attackers were blacks…he was nearly dumbfounded when I told him they were not. There were later comments that sounded more like jokes about me. I am angry that someone who suffers from the shame of sexual trauma is subjected to that kind of rudeness and ignorance-and bigotry.

I want to see it different for others. I hope some way comes to lighten up the path to show what trauma this is-and to inspire a change in how MST survivors find healing and hope through a gentler system.

Peace

Memorial Day

This is the view at sunset looking across Pearl Harbor at Ford Island. I am standing at Hickam Air Force Base when the witness of this sky came to be.

I’m battered by a million emotions. I toured the USS Missouri twice-once alone,and then later with my son. Across the bow of this great ship you could see the USS Arizona Memorial. In the Missouri in one of the galleys was a collection of ships-cast out of pot metal,miniatures of the real thing. A young sailor collected them during the war-among them was the USS Vulcan AR-5. Out in the harbor lay the USS Vestal AR-4.

The morning I toured the USS Arizona Memorial,the ride across Pearl Harbor to where she lay-I met a man and his wife,he knew of the USS Vulcan and commented on my shirt and cap that I had worn for the occasion. A photo is in the previous post.

Because I with with my son most of the time I never exactly found the space to be alone with it all. The moment came on the airplane home crossing the Pacific Ocean. Thinking of everything I had seen-and being around so much Navy and military…each morning they blew reveille!

I started crying on the plane. Thankfully it was dark. My headphones and sunglasses hid much of the rest.

I wanted to end this thing-the journal you are reading here…and thinking in many ways the trip to see so much history would bring closure to my own past. Yes,in many private ways-I found peace. I got to be a boy again and explore the ships-even the submarine USS Bowfin,and pretend in my mind that I was back looking at a better time. How crazy is that-so many lost their lives here where I stood? But yet-the polish of the green tiled decks were of the many things that brought back the better times of 1969 and living on the USS Vulcan.

I would have written sooner. The truth is-the flight home lasted nearly 40 hours. Late connections and waiting for different flights. My resistence wore down and by the time I got home I became ill. A shrink at the VA gave me a 30 day supply of Xanax-at my request…this to numb the fear of others and of  large public places. I found a beer here and there made the effect more perfect in that it knocked me out enough I had no care. My need for self hypnosis was covered by the effects of the drug and being somewhat drunk.

I wanted to write today because tomorrow is Memorial Day.

There is a National Cemetery about 60 miles south of here. I know several people there-among them my sons grandfather,a Major of the US Air Force-a former POW kept in a Nazi Stalag until the end of World War Two.

I think looking across Pearl Harbor at Ford Island spoke a lot to me. The impact of what happened in 1941 is disguised by modern bridges and high rise apartments in the distance. But the vision of it is still there in the old buildings that are protected as part of our history. The sky remains the same as does the view across the harbor. It is easy to imagine what that day must have been like.

I need to look at the graves of thousands now and pay my respects.

closure

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the time you the remark of closure having something to do with putting an end to a matter of tragic circumstances. I am not sure I can agree that it works. I will go through the motions-but with knowing my baby brother and our sister are buried in a grave in Pennsylvania,him 6 and her 11,just says to me they are dead and aren’t ever coming back.  I still see her in her coffin-I still remember the funeral attendant bringing a step stool so I could see my dead sister laying there I was still so little. I still can see my brother tumbling underneath the car that ran over him-I still see his teeth baring as he was dying in our fathers arms. I remember all the funeral-even the red jacket he wore in his casket.

They are buried-and they are gone. Yet they still live in my head-one memory of Carl is vivid when we were once playing around on the living room floor. Funny how that is.

I do not really know what the terms of getting closure are.

A little later this day I am packing a suit case and embarking on a journey. I’m going to Pearl Harbor. My son is stationed there-the plan is for me to visit the submarine he is serving on…the hope is that I might be treated to a possible short trip on the ship-but those things are yet to be determined.

The true desire I have is to visit the hero’s of the USS Arizona. I want to stand there and see the hulk of the ship and to sense what it all was. I know this experience will be moving-I am moved just by the thought of it.

I ordered the shirt and cap you see in the photo to wear in honor of those men and also stand proudly on my sons ship-as I did serve,although my duty time was cut short.

Closure? It wants to be-but most likely my gesture will be something just for me because all of my Navy time was meant to be mine alone.

My nerves are way wound up and the stress of the travel is making me jittery and ill. I understand one of the flights is over night. The sounds of a mass of people snoring and sleep noises will most definitely trigger that sound that I waited for back in barracks D that first night-waiting for everyonene to go to sleep so I could go pee. I had to pee so bad-it was painful bad. I had not been given that chance all day,and now I was afraid because of this barracks. It was when I finally felt safe-thinking all were asleep-I crept into the head and just began to pee when I was greeted “hello mister” and knocked down with a punch to the head. Those sleeping sounds will have bothered me ever since I learned the flight was overnight.

I’ve been drinking-I guess people call it a binge,but…I call it knocking my ass out so I can sleep (if sleep is what it is called…the drunk in me doesn’t allow the body to rest). My stress is so bad I requested-and got Xanax to keep me calm during the flight.

Yesterday my binge needs called for me to stop at the bar. Our town only has one-everyone one knows everyone,we’ve known each other for years long enough to love each other and hate each other and forget and return to love again. I can’t tell you all of the range of topics that have crossed the counter of the bar over all these years. Yesterdays was one that I wish could have not have been.

One of the guys is a former sailor. He heard I was going to Hawaii and commented (like the guy a few weeks ago at the laundry) that I must have been there when I did my tour in Viet Nam. It is the second time I’ve told this man I never made it to Viet Nam. Then he asked me if I ever crossed the Equater. I told him no and that I’d only been to Cuba. Then he told of the ritual sailors go through when they cross the Equater for the first time. He even said there was a name for the sailors that never have…kind of a derogatory term-and those that have get a title that gives them a rise above the newby’s.

I tried to push it out of my head. I drank my beer and left the place and as I drove home I started to cry. The memory that I do not have is the memory this man has.

The morning I was raped the officer that heard of it said to “get used to it”…over years some have said “get over it”…and then there is the word “closure”.  Listening to that man telling of his hazing as his battleship crossed the Equater made me wish I could be telling the story-the grin on his face as he spoke of the memory,I knew he was happy and that he had loved every moment of it. And I felt that always present sense of guilt that I did not serve the way this man served.It hurt so bad that I go back and wonder…how can I ever get used to it? How can I get over it?

I do know this-I cannot keep writing about this forever. My life-my parts that describe the personal hurt and all that I could say to show how rape is a crime of huge damages to ones soul.. So I have to bring this to closure and start anew with the work that is at hand for other MST survivors. I’ve told my story here-this now being perhaps the last page.

I need to move on and work seriously to advocate for change for the countless many other survivors of Military Sexual Trauma (MST). If you are reading this for the first time-all of these pages are the account of a male survivor. I’ve written about all the challenges that I lived through-I hope you can  find some relationship to what I am saying and hope you too can a voice and way to try to heal…I’m not sure truthfully if we will ever heal. But-I believe we can gain strength.

I will start a new blog when I return from Hawaii.

This new blog will be about all survivors and will be dedicated to fighting for changes in how the Veterans Adinistration handles the claims process for MST survivors. I will try to channel as much info to help any survivor prove their case and recieve help from the VA. I want to see changes in whom MST survivors are required to report to to file any claims. I want to help educate-as I learn,and help you find help and a voice.

I know the experience of standing at the USS Arizona Memorial will be one of the greatest highlights of my life. As a little boy those men were my hero’s and I find it a Great God that can provide me with such a journey to such a place just to teach me my life….and thier lives…and that I must learn to be content.

I will write once again soon to notify how to find the new blog.

‘wrecked’

“It will never repay you for what you might have been” was the comment from a friend-his wife was the therapist that attended my hearing before the VA Judge in 2007.

I have found myself in this place. It is new to me. The place is a private one,so far-I think it is. The place are these moments where uncontrollable weeping sets in. I know it is my manner of thinking that may provoke the tears. But-honestly…it is thinking about my friends statement!

It is not just that he had said it. He said nothing new-nothing that I had never thought of,as a matter of fact-I’ve thought about it almost every day of my life.

As a boy my grandfather ‘Sir’ must have had something to do with my being interested in buildings-architecture. Sir was an iron worker-he worked on many of the large and historic buildings of Washington DC. I wanted to grow up and be an architect-I collected pictures of houses and house plans,small little pictures that I glued in paste books,long lost.

I’ve sat here in my woods these past few weeks and with out warning the weeping begins. It feels good,sometimes. But-the memories and thoughts that invoke the tears…just like my friend said,I can never be re-payed for what has been lost.

What the repay part of this is in reference to is the amount of money my claim against the Veterans Administration came to. It was enough to pay my mortgage-a small mortgage I had taken out to pay credit cards a few years back. I know I am weeping about that too-the safety of it,the peace of mind-but more above that,the return of something that is so dear in my heart from all the blood and sweat and tears that went into owning this wooded spot. Our home in these woods is also a direct result of my PTSD issues. I brought my family here literally homeless. We began life here in a pup tent-the kitchen a Coleman stove-the shower a 55 gallon drum on a stand-the toilet a random hole dug here and there. The shelter we ended up having (and it still stands) was built out of lumber carried home home board by board-hitch hiked almost 20 miles each day. Those days began at 0300 when I began my 7 mile hike to the main highway to hitch a ride to work a job of labor.

But-it cannot repay me for the career that I found hope that could be mine as a U.S.Navy Officer,the love I found when I faced the USS Vulcan for the first time-the sounds of the ship and the lights from her masts. I was being offered a career in this-and my brother shut those dreams down with his own jealousy.

I wept these past few weeks about many things-good and bad…my son,a U S Navy CPO has invited to attend a father son event on his submarine. He has been in the Navy since the day after he graduated high school in 1990. He has known all of his life how much I loved the Navy-the short time I was able to enjoy it. My sons both know that I was raped in an unusual experience while I served-my brother effected a story that ended me in a detention barracks. My older brother was on the ship I had requested to serve on. My sons know all of this-after all,they’ve watched me live it all their lives. That is why I weep-because of them and how they have achieved and reached the goals I wanted so much to make in my own life. I think it is of a higher Spirit that has set the timing in motion that I will be on a cruise on a U.S.Navy ship as if to offer me a private personal salute to my want and desire to have served.

I also have wept because I have come to a place in my life where I have found friends that that know the hurt I’ve known since I lived through barracks D….lived not being the choicest of words. My friend that made the comment last week about how much had been lost and how nothing could replace it-he made me weep out of the gladness there is sweet fellowship for me.

I did receive a settlement from the Veterans Administration. They assumed responsibility for the PTSD that is result of the time I spent in barracks D. I paid my land off like I said. I bought myself a newer truck with hope I might be able to travel for a while. My best thinking is on the highway-my favorite sanctuary is the cab of a truck. I paid my debts and now there is nothing left except for a gratefully accepted monthly check-forever. But-my friend is so right in what he said.

My Dad will never know. He will never know why I am crying at this very moment…as I am trying to write this. Only if the higher Spirit I know of shows him from there…my Dad will never know that the Judge sent me papers saying there was ‘no wrongdoing’-that I had been wrongly accused,and wrongly abused because of it. My father was why I wanted to be in the Navy-to show him I could deliver. I’ve always lived in the failure he settled with being my way-because he only saw that I served 7 months in the U.S.Navy-and two of those were spent in a detention barracks,just before I was escorted to the base entrance and given a discharge. My father never knew I received an ‘honorable discharge’.

I weep because of that too.

VA’s MST Policies and Treatment Benefits

The following is  listing of the laws regarding the Veterans Administration MST Policies and Treatment. I stumbled onto these by accident one day-I feel they may be more useful in the hands of MST survivors and not kept closed and only available to VA staff as the headline I failed to copy had advised. You must read them carefully-and you can use them.

Summary DocumentsSummary of VA Laws, Directives, & National Policies Related to MST

 

Handout summarizing eligibility and billing rules related to MST

‘Office of General Counsel MST Eligibility Guidelines’ summary document

FAQs about payment for travel

• Please see our discussion forum thread on this topic

MST and the Compensation and Pension process (August 7, 2008 MST Teleconference Training Series presentation)

• Audio recording of this presentation

Overview / history of VA’s response to MST

MST-Related Laws, Directives, and Policies
Note: provisions that were changed in later Public Law, Directives, or policies appear with a cross-out line

1992: Public Law 102-585

• Added section 1720D to Chapter 17 of Title 38 (”Veterans Benefits“; 38 CFR 17), US Code of Federal Regulations to authorize VA to provide outreach and counseling (up to December 31, 1995) to help women veterans overcome “psychological trauma” from a “physical assault of a sexual nature, battery of a sexual nature, or sexual harassment” that occurred while the veteran was serving on active duty.
• Sexual harassment was defined as “repeated, unsolicited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature which is threatening in character.”
• The Secretary was to “give priority to the establishment and operation of the program to provide counseling.”
• Veteran was required to seek counseling within two years of discharge.
• Treatment could last for up to a year.
• Mandated education of “mental health professionals and … other health care personnel” on MST issues.

1994: Public Law 103-452

• Amended section 1720D of 38 CFR 17 to extend VA’s authorization to provide treatment through December 31, 1998.
• Repealed requirement that veteran seek counseling within two years of discharge.
• Expanded treatment to men.
• Expanded treatment to physical conditions resulting from MST.
• Changed outpatient sexual trauma counseling, care, and services to priority I.
• Repealed limits on length of treatment.

1995: VA Directive 10-95-030

• Implemented PL 103-452.
• Made MST-related “counseling, care, and services” free of charge. However, “medication copayments will be charged for services provided for nonservice-connected conditions.”

1997: Under Secretary for Health’s Information Letter IL-10-97-037

• Based on a General Counsel Opinion (VAOPGCADV 17-97), clarified the eligibility rules for veterans seeking treatment for MST.
  • Persons are eligible for MST care and counseling services if they meet the definition of “veteran” in 38 USC Section 1720D. This includes reservists and members of the National Guard who were activated to full-time duty status in the Armed Forces. It does not include those who experienced MST while on active duty for training.
  • No minimum length of service requirements apply.
  • Veterans need not have filed a claim for service-connected disability.

1998: Public Law 105-368 [section 902 on Acrobat page 46 of this document]

• Amended section 1720D of 38 CFR 17 to extend VA’s authorization to provide treatment through December 31, 2001.

1998: VA Directive 98-058

• Notified VA healthcare personnel that VA’s authority to provide treatment had been extended through December 31, 2001 (as per PL 105-368.)

1999: Public Law 106-117 (”Millennium Bill”) [section 115 on Acrobat page 14 of this document]

• Amended section 1720D of 38 CFR 17 to extend VA’s authorization to provide treatment through December 31, 2004.
• Changed wording from VA “may” provide care to “shall” provide care.
• Required outreach to veterans about the MST-related counseling and treatment available, particularly in collaboration with DoD.
• Required VA to submit reports to Congress on outreach activities specified in this Public Law and on the number of veterans receiving MST-related counseling.

1999: VA Directive 99-039

• Instituted a nationwide system (”MST software application”) to “indicate a veteran’s claim of MST; indicate if a veteran’s treatment is related to MST; and generate statistical and demographic reports related to MST”.
• Stated that it is “important” that all Primary Care and Behavioral Health providers screen for MST.

2000: VA Directive 2000-008

• Provided a definition for MST, based on PL 102-585: “The law defines sexual trauma as sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape, and other acts of violence. It further defines sexual harassment as repeated, unsolicited verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature, which is threatening in nature.”
• Given the need for “confidentiality and sensitivity to the impact of MST on veterans”, mandated that all staff receive education on MST-related issues.
• Mandated screening all veterans for MST.
• Per Millennium Bill, required outreach, particularly in collaboration with DOD, to help overcome barriers to treatment.
• Required all facilities to designate an MST Coordinator.
• Required all facilities to implement the “MST software” and “track MST patients.”
• Required monitoring treatment rates for MST, aggegrated by gender.

2004: Public Law 108-422 [section 301 on Acrobat page 4 of this document]

• Amended section 1720D of 38 CFR 17 to make VA’s authority to provide sexual trauma counseling to veterans permanent.
• Extended MST treatment to active duty for training (ADUTRA) service members.

2005: VA Directive 2005-015

• Specified that Medical Center Directors are responsible for appointing a designated MST Coordinator.
• Medical Center Directors must also ensure that a “MST Counselor(s) or Team” is available so that all enrolled veterans are screened for MST.
• Mandated “necessary staff education and training.”
• Scheduling for outpatient MST-related care should be within 30 days, consistent with VHA performance standards of scheduling for special populations and mental health clinics.
• Required documentation of screening, referral, and treatment for MST-related care, aggregated by gender via use of the MST software and MST clinical reminder.
• Specified that even veterans who are otherwise ineligible for VA health care benefits based on length of military service may be provided MST-related care.
• Stated that veterans receiving MST-related counseling and treatment should not be billed for inpatient, outpatient, or pharmaceutical co-payments.
• Veterans “need to be informed of their eligibility to file a claim for service connected disability compensation” and told how to learn more about how to do this.

2007: Code of Federal Regulations, Title 38, 1720D (38 CFR 17) [section 1720D on Acrobat page 204 of this document] Note: This document loads VERY slowly.

• Title 38 description of coverage of veterans’ benefits related to MST, as last updated in 2007.

2008: Uniform Mental Health Services document (VHA Handbook 1160.01) [section 24, Acrobat page 42 of this document in particular, although other sections also reference MST (e.g., section 9, Acrobat page 13)]
Memo releasing this document
Note: Our June, 2008 MST Teleconference Training Series call and our PowerPoint on VA Laws, Directives, & National Policies have more information about this document.

• Describes mental health-related services that must be available at every VA facility.
• All facilities must install the MST clinical reminder in CPRS.
• All veterans must be screened using this reminder.
• Veterans who request treatment must be provided free care for mental and physical health conditions related to MST. Determination as to whether the care is MST-related or not is made by the clinician providing care and is indicated by checking the MST box on the encounter form for the visit.
• Facilities must monitor screening, referral, and treatment related to MST, aggregated by gender, by using the clinical reminder (for tracking screening) and the MST encounter form checkbox (to track treatment)
  Note: The MST clinical reminder and encounter form checkbox are what is used by the Office of Mental Health Services and the MST Support Team to evaluate local screening, referral, and treatment. If they wish, facilities may also choose to use stop code 524 or purpose of visit code 55 for monitoring of treatment, as suggested by the Uniform Mental Health Services Package and Directive 2005-015. However, this should be in addition to, not instead of, the use of the MST encounter form checkbox.
• Scheduling priority for outpatient care is consistent with VHA performance standards for scheduling clinics.
• Veterans may be eligible for free MST-related care even if they are otherwise ineligible for VA services.
• Every VISN must provide access to residential programs that can provide care for conditions resulting from MST.
• Fee basis is permissible if clinical, resource, or geographic reasons make it not feasible to provide counseling in a VA facility.
• Every VAMC must have an MST Coordinator who monitors and ensures that national and VISN-level policies related to MST screening, education and training, and treatment are implemented at the facility; serves as a point person and a source of information and problem-solving for MST-related issues at the facility; establishes and monitors mechanisms to ensure that all veterans are screened for MST and have access to treatment for conditions related to MST.
• Evidence-based mental health care must be available to all veterans with mental health conditions related to MST.
• When clinically indicated, facilities are strongly encouraged to give veterans the option of being assigned a same-sex mental health provider (or opposite-sex provider if the MST involved a same-sex perpetrator).
• “Necessary” staff education and training must be provided.

2009: VA Directive 2009-012

• Specifies that MST-related care is not subject to outpatient co-payments

ROTC arrests and MST

The man its in this photo is Colonel J.H.Watson,USMC (Ret.)

His current occupation is that of an ROTC instructor at a high school in Florida although his current address at the Duval County jail prohibits him at the moment.

His charges involve child pornography-they don’t yet say he has assaulted any children they only describe the items found on his computer. They describe the children as teenage girls-the same age as the teens he is is charge of teaching leadership to.

I only know the very brief  information that was published with this mans photograph-so I cannot stand in judgement as he has a right to defend himself in court.

What I do know is Colonel Watson is not the only retired military veteran who has been charged with a crime of this nature-and what narrows it down,the solitaire former instructor of ROTC in recent past to be arrested. One only needs to do  a quick search to learn I speak the truth.

The fact that men like this do end up in jail says something to me-it tells me that military sexual trauma (MST) has tentacle’s that reach into all ranks.

Okay-I may be a tad or two off to connect this mans arrest with MST,but I relate it to it being likely this mans misconduct is not something new and most likely was a practice of his during his career. Then I think about how many men and woman he had in his command and then I think of the 32% of woman veterans who the VA says have been victims of MST, and the 6% of the male veterans. How many men and woman in his command and through his years as he grew in the ranks could fit into those numbers?

I know-I’m talking about odds,but…they do have a place in this!  I remember the veterans advocate that I was once going to trust to carry my case forward-he made judgements about my rapes. He wondered why homosexuals needed a reason to rape each other…and the the equally troubling assumption my attackers were blacks. My advocate had to be my judge-and yet could not judge with this kind of bigotry. And then you take this guy-Colonel Watson,and you think of how many in his past that might have had a need to report a rape and wonder how many could not. It is easy to say there may have been several times if you consider the numbers of men and woman Colonel Watson had watch over during his career.

My point here needs to consider the numbers of ROTC instructors that have been jailed in the past year of 2008 for sexual misconduct-and assault on children/teenagers in their charge-all of them retired military with rank. My quick search on ‘GOOGLE’ this morning brought up 10 different individuals on the first page. I wonder how many MST victims these men had contact with during active duty?

Why would one wonder why a victim could not come forward and report that they had been raped? With just my feeble attempt with the numbers explains that well enough to me. If the odds are that the MST survivor has this kind of individual to report to and seek justice then the odds are seemingly off…and it is easy to understand why one would want to remain silent.

The veteran MST survivor remains the ’silent wounded’ because of men like Colonel Watson. How could one come to this man as an officer and receive full understanding? How could a man like this make a reasonable judgement with his own heart carrying the guilt of sexual misconduct? It is no wonder many remain silent.

I am not a research scientist-I only comment here as an observer of my own life as an MST survivor…what it was like for me to report my rape to an officer only to be laughed at-and years later to a Florida Veterans Affairs advocate to hear him remark how amazed he was that “homosexuals had a need to rape each other”. This man was also a retired Marine. I look at the photo here of Colonel Watson and see the same kind of men-the Navy officer who laughed and the FVA officer who was to ignorant to understand.

Can you see where I’m going with this? I am showing you how hard it really is to come forward and I am showing you that MST has its hands on every level of military service-even in the ROTC program (and yes-I understand ROTC is not necessarily military,but…) and in my way I am showing you that it is a larger problem than one really knows-and that the military wants to admit. I am showing you that sexual misconduct has no barrier of rank or race or age. I hope you get my drift!

the encounter with the vet

008

Originally uploaded by jayfherron

I had to do the routine of laundry one day this past week. Usually I manage that chore in my own area-but this day I had several things to do in the city,so I managed the wash chore into  part of that trip.

I’m not a dress up kind of guy-I’m simple with blue jeans and T-shirts. However-I never wear T-shirts with logo’s or advertisement or funny comments. Plain and straight. I do own one T-shirt  that is printed…it is a Harley-Davidson shirt from Hawaii. I bought it at a thrift store.

Because my clothes had all been shoved in the basket-the only shirt I had clean was the Harley shirt.

At the wash house the place was nicely not very crowded-but there was this one guy, a guy about my age-long hair and a rough look about him. He eye-balled me as I toted my stuff in and jammed the washers. I could even sense him looking at me then.

I chose the wash house in that area because a few blocks down the road is a small engraving shop-I walked down there while my washers were running. A few weeks ago I was given a gift of a Zippo lighter-the standard USN anchor lighter. It is exactly like the one I bought in boot camp-I’m sure just as old. I took it to have it engraved like the one I bought in 1969…USS Vulcan AR-5

When I got back to the wash house the guy was still there. My wash was done and the dryers I had to use put me in a closer vicinity to him-and then the question came….”have you ever ever been to Hawaii”? I looked at the guy and nodded my head “no”.

I really wanted to ignore this guy-but he kept on with the questions-but they turned on his assumption that I never went to Viet Nam because if I had I would have been sent to Hawaii for R and R…and he kept rambling on about how much fun it was,Hawaii and his tour in Viet Nam. He grilled me on my own military time-based on my tattoos and my confession that I’m not a biker. I answered as many as I could until they reached a point of making nothing sensible but everything confusing.

This was a tough guy-a biker looking fellow-if there is a stereotype to give him. I was subjected to his recount of nine years of military service until he was given a medical-discharge for having combat related issues. He said he was dis-abled because of PTSD….of course,then-I say I am too. Another barrage  of questions. I told him. I did not tell him what happened in barracks D….but I think instinct made him know. I told him how I wanted to be a Navy man-a full life career and explained how out of jealousy and brotherly relationships of biblical proportions intervened.

I was actually amazed at the calmness in the way the man listened to me. Up until the point I found no way out of answering his questioning and told him how I ended up in the ‘brig’ he grilled me with questions that put me in a corner. I didn’t have to answer him-but my own PTSD was jarring me to attention. The fellow could not figure out how a kid who worked in the galley and never saw the combat he saw ends up with PTSD.

I couldn’t believe it-the change in his personality and how he reacted as I spurt out my explanation sans the details of the rapes. I know somehow he was street wise enough to know I deleted some detail. When I told him he apologized to me!! He came around from where he was standing-with his hand extended. He shook my hand about six times and kept saying how sorry he was-and he called me brother…in the mission sort of way as comrade’s would!

I had been honest with him-I told him how I feel guilt from not serving my full enlisted time-and that none of the time I served was duty in Viet Nam. During our conversation I had told him about my sons,my oldest a veteran seaman of 17 plus years-my youngest served in both the Navy and National Guard-and now the Coast Guard Reserves.

My comrade said I have served my country-myself personally,and by my sons following in my steps.

I told him about the cigarette lighter-how much it meant to me,how I lost the first one,and how this one was given to me. I also told him that I ordered a ball-cap with my ships name embroidered on it,one exact replica of the hats worn by sailors on duty. I told him I was going to be going to Hawaii next month to visit the submarine my son is stationed on-and that these items would be with me,proudly.

He said “That is so cool”!!