PTSD treatment for combat veterans still a challenge with mixed success

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As the longest war in U.S. history rages on in Afghanistan, the military continues to struggle with battling the mental wounds of combat when soldiers may be reluctant to seek help. “I have received behavioral health counseling multiple times. It has been difficult for me to admit that I had a problem, but going and accepting has helped me tremendously,” said Sgt. Jacob Holmes, a 10-year veteran who works with the Army’s 24th Press Camp Headquarters which is a unit of soldiers/journalists, currently stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso. Holmes, who responded to interview questions by email, was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in 2012.

This ranch combines yoga and horsemanship in healing therapy

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In the sleepy little farm town of Canutillo, Texas – just across the river from El Paso, is the 20-acre Rio Grande Valley Ranch that boards horses, steers, ponies and even goats . The ranch is also home to a some horses that are specially trained to help people with special needs. The horses are used to connect with people who have disabilities such as social disorders, confidence issues, PTSD, fetal alchohol syndrome, Downs syndrome, autism and even young abuse victims.

Noel Cass and her friend Rita Nicolini operate KNJ Therapeutic, which helps about five people a day break through the wall built by their disabilities. Cass was trained in Phoenix and is PATH certified, which stands for Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship. She has been in the field for 10 years.

Homeless veterans in El Paso are estimated to be around 200 according to Casa Vida de Salud.

Unable to adjust to civilian life, some Army veterans end up living on the street

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EL PASO – Nicolas Charles Damico, a veteran of both of America’s longest wars, shuffles through papers on the kitchen table of the homeless shelter where he lives until he finds the Army patch he promises to live by – “This we’ll defend.”

He does this at the Veterans Transitional Living Center, a shelter for homeless veterans who have the potential to return to normal life soon. “I am now homeless for many reasons. The one benefit I got, I messed up. I used up my G.I. Bill very quickly. I only had 36 months to complete my education.

William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC) on Ft. Bliss. (Joshua Gutierrez/Borderzine.com)

Many soldiers return from war only to face post-traumatic stress

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EL PASO — When Marine Sgt. Miguel Marquez returned home from fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan he realized that post-traumatic stress disorder was preventing him from adjusting to civilian life. “I started drinking heavily to help deal with life back at home because I didn’t know what else to do,” said Marquez, 28. Thousands of soldiers coming home with mental and physical injuries from the wars of the last decade suffer from PTSD. According to the United States Army Medical Department about 10 percent to 15 percent of soldiers returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) suffer from PTSD.