individual doesn't experience it as traumatic they may not develop post-traumatic stress disorder. In other instances, individuals claim they were not shaken by a particularly traumatic event and it is denial speaking. Denial may fool the conscious mind but the truth manifests itself through the brain and body. The symptoms will emerge in some form.

Effective treatment is at the heart of the recovery process. Therapy is a huge challenge, but facing it and conquering it is all the more sweet. Therapy will help give trauma survivors new coping skills.

The primary goal of the therapist is to impact three areas related to the individual: thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. First, a therapist works on reframing a survivor's thoughts about the trauma in an accurate and healthy way. Second, a therapist works with deconditioning a survivor's affective (emotional) responses to the trauma. Third, while the survivor speaks of the traumatic event, they must be encouraged to learn new responses to the stress of the experience, thus helping to eliminate maladaptive behaviors such as excessive drinking or drug abuse.

A survivor's thoughts or perceptions regarding their traumatic experience are both the problem and solution. A therapist needs to decondition anxiety, fear, and other heightened emotions that exist in a traumatized individual. Putting the survivor in touch with his/her bodily responses to feelings associated with trauma is part of the treatment process. Trauma is associated with increased heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, etc. Being more aware of these sensations, an individual is guided to complete the cycles of tensing and relaxing. In so doing, the patient learns a more relaxed response to stressors. Mastering relaxation techniques, guided imagery, and concentration in therapy helps the patient reclaim self-mastery.

A very important part of treatment is reminding the survivor that they prevailed in the face of the traumatic event(s). The survivor is reminded of his or her strength. This helps them rewrite the meaning of the experience and alter their negative self-perception, which leads to learning new and healthy coping behaviors. Recognizing that they are in control of their thoughts they then can adapt a more healthy way to respond to their situation. In so doing, the therapist has assisted in building a new sense of self in the patient.

Learning new coping strategies and skills is another part of the treatment process. As an individual realizes that they can cope with situations that used to elicit great anxiety and stress, they experience a sense of self-mastery. Self-mastery leads to resilience. Trauma can make someone stronger and ready to take on life's challenges in a renewed way.

Internal control or self-mastery is a major goal of trauma therapy. A veteran should remember, if one can rebound from a traumatic past there's almost nothing you cannot overcome. Others who have suffered great trauma, such as psychiatrist and neurologist Viktor Frankl during the Holocaust, have emerged greater and more inspired people. Sometimes, if we're fortunate, the worst experiences in life can inspire the best in us.

Despite enduring a traumatic experience, even long past, it lives on revisiting the survivor uninvited through recurring dreams and intrusive thoughts until the experience is reintegrated within the individual's psyche. This takes the help of a trained professional. Recollections of trauma do not fade from memory as everyday experiences do. With individual psychotherapy, these recollections will lessen their intrusiveness until they no longer appear without being summoned. When summoned, the individual will be able to recall the memory without being overwhelmed by it. The key to putting the past in the past, where it belongs, is to build a new sense of self. The therapist will help reacquaint returning veterans with their hopes and dreams. Selfdiscovery is the crown jewel of psychotherapy. Those that have endured war related trauma need this opportunity more than anyone else. •

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lorraine Silvetz received her BFA from N.Y.U. Film School and her Master's from N.Y.U. School of Social Work in 2005. She is a psychotherapist, active in philanthropy, having founded Global Stress Initiative (GSI) under the International Committee Against Mental Illness (ICAMI), a mental health foundation directed by her Uncle, Robert Cancro, MD in 2010. ICAMI-GSI's goal is to provide non-invasive treatment for survivors of trauma. GSI utilizes individualized transcranial magnetic stimulation (iTMS) for the treatment of service members, domestic violence and human trafficking survivors impacted by PTSD.