The Shepherd, Path of Souls and Path of Dogs, is a graphic novel that captures not only the struggles following exposure to traumatic events endured by combat soldiers but also the paths to healing, leading to post traumatic growth. The novel came about as a result of years of hearing the stories from combat Veterans and my profound wish to reach beyond the ones I had direct access to heal, in order to help a greater audience find the most effective treatment options available that produce fast and lasting results. The authors (my husband, Andrea L. Molinari and our son, Roberto X. Molinari) took on the challenge of telling stories of combat Warriors who were exposed to loss and grief, moral injuries, survivors guilt, and the many ways war inflicts invisible and devastating wounds. They spent hours listening to combat Veterans stories and researching the different war eras to create an authentic product.
It was my heartfelt desire that the reader would have access to information and resources to help them find the path to healing for themselves. The Shepherd honored that heartfelt wish by making sure to focus on providing resources and information on effective treatment (like Accelerated Resolution Therapy) for post traumatic stress at the end of the novel. If it takes a village to raise a child, then it will take a nation to rise to the challenge of providing what is needed to help our heroes have access to the care they need, both in the communities they live in and nationwide. There are many individuals and organizations and foundations creating a large network of opportunities to help our heroes heal. The VA is not the only option when it comes to treatment (although it has a vast network of resources within its structure to help) and traditional therapies are not always the most effective means to address traumatic memory. There are therapeutic retreat programs, like Warrior Mission: At Ease, that provides holistic alternative healing combined with evidence based therapy. There are recreational programs and adaptive sports that encourage connecting to other Warriors and being active that encourage healing. There are so very many supports in place and we want you to have access to them and to the resources that provide effective therapies.
To be effective, the therapy needs to address the physiological responses (the horrible physical and emotional sensations that get triggered when you are exposed to sights, sound, taste, touch or smell that is associated with the traumatic event) and the disturbing images (the negative emotional coding is written into the images). If those are not processed out (erased and replaced with something non threatening) then they will be always lurking in the future, waiting to be triggered again. If you have ever watched movies that allow for “alternate endings” where you get to chose how you want the story to end, then you have an idea of how effective therapies, like Accelerated Resolution Therapy, works. When you activate and then edit the memory, removing the disturbing images and sensations, you are able to turn the alarm off in the brain and be at ease again. It is like taking an R rated movie and editing out the violence to get the G rating that anyone can view without getting upset. The written story still tells the real tale, facts don’t change, just the negative images and disturbing sensations get overwritten and the memory finally gets moved from short term activated memory to being stored in long term memory. The result? You live in the now without the constant disruption the past was creating.
Our goal in producing The Shepherd, Path of Souls and Path of Dogs, was to ensure that Active Duty, Veterans, and the families that love them, have access to what they need and can find real hope and help and healing. To our Warriors–your stories matter, you are not alone in what you are facing–we have the ability to help you recover and feel at ease in your own skin, in your family and in your community again. #AlwaysForward
Click here: The Shepherd2
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