Contents

You can preview Troops and Veterans Tool Kit on Blast Injury, Traumatic Brain Injury, Concussion and PTSD by the links below.

Down Range to Iraq and Back by Bridget Cantrell, Ph.D. and Chuck Dean

This book explains the trauma of war through personal experiences of veterans with expert advice from counselors working with troops who have returned home from Iraq and Afghanistan. It can help service members make the transition from war to peace and help their families understand why this can be difficult. The invisible wounds of war are described with a detailed explanation of the symptoms and warning signs of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The treatment and recovery process for PTSD are explained with first hand accounts from veterans and the reactions of family members. Readers will understand why so many combat veterans have flashbacks, depression, fits of rage, nightmares, anxiety, emotional numbing, and other troubling aspects of PTSD. Veterans can feel like they are going from one world to the next as they come home, return to work and try to pick up their lives. Despite the relief and joy of having survived and coming home, many service members find themselves having nightmares, sleep disturbances, survivor guilt and pent up emotions. This book provides many tools and practical suggestions for veterans and their families to help them deal with the aftermath of wartime and PTSD.

Once a Warrior by Bridget Cantrell Ph.D. and Chuck Dean

More than a million US troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since the War on Terror began. Tens of thousands have shown some signs of serious stress upon their return. This book describes stress reactions with tips on how to deal with and recognize symptoms as they arise.

Warriors may or may not return home with what is diagnosed as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Many signs of PTSD are what military stress teams now call Combat Operational Stress (COS). Every participant in a war zone will show some aspects of COS (i.e. hyper-alertness, anxiety, frustration, anger, confusion, intolerance of “stupid” behavior, sleep disruption, etc.). A primary goal of Once a Warrior: Wired for life is to help veterans recognize any issues from their tours of duty – and to know that they are not alone on their journey home.

Understanding the Effects of Concussion, Blast and Brain Injuries

Traumatic brain injury has been called the signature wound of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As troops return home, their families and caregivers are searching for information about the effects of concussion, blast and brain injuries. This guide is a special edition for all who are involved in the care and treatment of wounded veterans. It contains information on the full spectrum of injuries from the short term effects of concussions or mild brain injuries to the life long effects of more severe brain injuries. By editing and redesigning our popular tip cards on brain injury, this special guide is a valuable resource filled with information, practical tips and strategies to help families and caregivers as veterans seek treatment and return to their communities.

It includes information on…

• Emotional impact on families when a spouse, parent, sibling, son or daughter becomes a wounded veteran with strategies for coping and adjustment
• Effects of a brain injury on behavior, thinking, emotions, communication and social skills
• Symptoms of concussion, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), post traumatic headaches, and substance abuse
• Effects of a brain injury on employment and accommodations on the job
• Programs and websites about PTSD and brain injury that provide support and information for military families and wounded veterans.

Brain Injury: It is a Journey by Flora Hammond, M.D. and Tami Guerrier, B.S., Editors

This practical user friendly manual helps families understand the consequences of brain injury. By explaining medical terms in clear language, readers will understand the various types of brain injury and the rehabilitation process. There are detailed descriptions of how a brain injury can affect physical abilities, memory, cognition (thinking and learning), behavior, emotions, and communication.

Each section describes changes that families may see in the person with a brain injury and gives suggestions for how to help. Families will find this manual filled with tips, strategies and checklists that they can use during the hospital/rehabilitation stay as well as after the individual returns home, goes back to work, or becomes active in the community. Special sections address the many concerns of families over time. This includes information on family coping, intimacy, sexuality, seizures, alcohol, drugs, driving, returning to school and returning to work.

Explaining Brain Injury, Blast Injury and PTSD to Children and Teens: A guidebook for families, caregivers and veterans by Marilyn Lash, M.S.W., Janelle Breese Biagioni and Tonya Hellard

This guide addresses the emotional impact of a parent’s injury upon children in the family. It discusses the complex and conflicting emotions expressed by many sons and daughters as they recount the impact of a mother or father’s brain injury on their lives and their family. A special chapter on PTSD is especially relevant for military families and returning veterans.

Based on extensive interviews with children and teens, this guide tells their story through their personal experiences as they grew up with a parent with a brain injury or PTSD. Their comments and insights will resonate with many families. By understanding the anxieties and fears of children, parents learn how to provide emotional support, communicate with children, and help children cope. This guide is helpful for families at any stage post injury or recovery as it covers children’s perspectives from early hospital care to adjusting to life at home after a parent’s injury.

Healing Together by Suzanne Phillips, Psy.D and Dianne Kane, D.S.W.

Traumatic events can lead to emotional reactions ranging from anxiety and depression to post traumatic stress disorders (PTSD). The person may have been seriously injured or been in a life-threatening situation. Whether the trauma occurred during a car accident, plane crash, flood, tornado or war, it can affect relationships with a partner or spouse. This guide helps couples recognize and recover from the emotional impact of physical and psychological trauma, learn how to communicate their needs, manage anger, deal with traumatic memories, recapture lost intimacy, and recognize their resiliency as a couple.

Presented as a practical, step-by-step program, this guide is especially helpful for individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

PTSD Workbook by Mary Beth Williams, Ph.D., LCSW, CTS and Soili Poijula, Ph.D

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur after a person is exposed to a terrifying event or ordeal, such as a car accident, war injuries, violence, natural disaster or sexual abuse. Individuals with PTSD often repeatedly re-experience the ordeal in flashback episodes, recurring memories, nightmares, or frightening thoughts. PTSD symptoms include emotional numbness and sleep disturbances, poor concentration, depression, anxiety, irritability or anger outbursts.

This workbook helps trauma survivors understand the symptoms and consequences of PTSD and gives exercises and techniques to help deal with trauma-related symptoms.