WASHINGTON 鈥� For the last five years, Ken Falke has helped thousands of combat veterans overcome the stress, anxiety and trauma of war at his 37-acre Bluemont, Virginia retreat, . Now, he wants to help others find the same peace 鈥� namely the who struggle with mental health issues each year.
Falke and his team of therapists and wellness experts, many of whom are veterans themselves, don鈥檛 treat their guests with traditional PTSD methods and medication. At Boulder Crest, it鈥檚 all about an alternative approach called post-traumatic growth (PTG).
Simply put, PTG is learning how to find strength in trauma and then growing from that experience. Think of the common saying, 鈥淲hat doesn鈥檛 kill you makes you stronger.鈥� At Boulder Crest Retreat, they鈥檙e tapping into that philosophy.
鈥淓verybody defines trauma differently, and really what we hope that comes out of it is that people identify and can self-identify that they鈥檙e struggling and that struggling is OK, and that the after effects of struggling can be very powerful,鈥� said Falke, a retired Navy veteran.
鈥淲hat really happens in this science of post-traumatic growth is that we鈥檙e trying to look at what you can do on the backside of trauma to come out thriving, rather then what the mental health community really does, which is get you to a place of surviving.鈥�
Boulder Crest Retreat鈥檚 PTG-based program, , is currently undergoing an 18-month evaluation, and collected thus far proves promising. (According to Falke, the PTG-approach is 鈥渁bout two- to three-times more effective then traditional mental health care.鈥�)
Results show PATHH participants experienced a 50 percent reduction in depression and anxiety, and a 40 percent reduction in stress. The data also points to a 75-percent improvement in the participants鈥� level of psychological, spiritual and relationship growth.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e doing with veterans seems to be working very well,鈥� said Falke, who added that the same can be true for civilians.
Falke鈥檚 new book, 鈥�,鈥� which he co-wrote with Boulder Crest鈥檚 Executive Director Josh Goldberg, shares steps and strategies for applying PTG to any type of stress or trauma 鈥� not just those that result from combat.
鈥淚 just ask everybody not to be too turned off by the cover, because it looks military, but it鈥檚 really written for (everyone),鈥� said Falke, who added that when dealing with mental health, 鈥渨e鈥檝e really got to take a different approach.鈥�
So what, exactly, is PTG? It鈥檚 defined and measured by five domains, , including deeper, more meaningful relationships; personal strength; spiritual and existential change; a sense of appreciation for life; and the ability to recognize new possibilities.
Throughout 鈥淪truggle Well,鈥� Falke and Goldberg share personal stories and map out strategies to help readers achieve PTG. A critical part in all of it is building a network of healthy, supportive relationships and 鈥減runing鈥� out the connections that are toxic.
Falke said if you鈥檙e struggling, you want to surround yourself with 鈥減eople that aren鈥檛 quick to give advice, aren鈥檛 telling you how to live your life, but can sit there and listen to you, because sometimes that鈥檚 all we need is to get it off our chest.鈥�
He added, 鈥淎s humans, we thrive on relationships, we are committed to quality relationships, and when you have toxic ones in your network, it鈥檚 brutal.鈥�
Self-regulation is another key point to staying on the path to overall wellness.
鈥淲e always tell people, those who can鈥檛 self-regulate, self-medicate,鈥� said Falke, who explained that Boulder Crest Retreat uses activities such as equine therapy, meditation and horticultural therapy to instill regulation practices.
In addition to helping people immediately, Falke hopes his organization’s work in PTG, and 鈥淪truggle Well,鈥� helps to change the course of care when it comes to mental health.
鈥淭here鈥檚 just not a lot of innovation in this space. I don鈥檛 understand it, I鈥檓 trying to understand it better, but really I think the start, and one of the easy points, is for people to understand the science of growth. Because even if you continue to use the (common) treatments that you use 鈥� the prolonged exposure and the cognitive processing therapy 鈥� but you start to have conversations about growth and health and wellness after trauma, it just changes the perspective of the patient and the client significantly,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here are some small things we can do, but really what鈥檚 needed is a large amount of money and a large amount of innovation.鈥�
Then, he added, 鈥淚t just seems like the country鈥檚 in a bit of a funk right now and we鈥檙e just trying to do our part to help people get better and get through life in a meaningful way.鈥�
