The Use of Gun Therapy to Treat War Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

Within this essay, there will be a prominent focus of gun therapy within its utilization of treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Due to this, there will be an emphasis on the history of PTSD, and explanations of treatment options in both the past and present. After this background is laid out, the specific topic of gun therapy as a form of PTSD treatment will be called into question- both pros and cons will be addressed for an overall judgment of whether or not this treatment is an effective means of controlling PTSD.

Introduction

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been a mental disorder that has haunted humanity since the dawn of time. Events that trigger an intense emotional and physiological reaction have the ability to impact persons even after the event has taken place; this is evidenced in history all the way back to Greco-Romanic eras when literary texts have documented characters that have been troubled by their experiences. Within PTSD it is important to recognize not only its treatment throughout history but as well in modern-day. One controversial treatment is that of gun therapy for war veterans suffering from this disorder. There have been both positive and negative experiences within this specific treatment in modern-day settings, and it is vital to understand both reactions before making the decision on whether or not to implement this treatment.

What PTSD is and a Brief History

Despite PTSD not being recognized as an actual disorder until 1980 (Friedman, 2014), there have been roots of this disorder occurring within individuals for as long as humans have been inhabiting the planet. This is due to the fact that PTSD takes its form from an external trigger- not an internal one. While this characteristic is the one that allows the disorder to transcend time and environment, it is interesting to psychologists because there are very few psychotic disorders that stem primarily from external forces. We see this in PTSD due to the concept of “trauma,” and how this external event then manifests itself in the human psyche to cause an imbalance between the person and their perception and handle on reality.

PTSD is a form of anxiety disorder that stems from a person witnessing a traumatic event that they cannot mentally and emotionally deal with. Symptoms and signs of this are flashbacks, feeling an unmerited sense of guilt, avoiding objects/places/people that remind them of the event, anger outbursts, and/or feeling tense (National Institute of Mental Health). While PTSD is seen as something closely connected to male war veterans, this stereotype isn’t necessarily true. Of the 7-8% of the population that suffers from PTSD, most of these are women (Friedman, 2014). It is essential to understand that anyone is at risk of suffering from PTSD due to the fact that traumatic events occur sporadically, and to anyone.

Historical and Current Treatments of PTSD in Terms of Their Effectiveness

Although there is a multitude of effective treatments for PTSD in this era, this was not always the case. In fact, up until the more modern era, PTSD was not acknowledged; women who suffered this disorder were thought to be “hysterical,” and men were thought to be “insane.” However, around the Vietnam War was when this disorder started to be considered something that was merited as a psychological break. “Shell shock” was one of the earliest forms of PTSD; however, this was simply targeted to war veterans who experienced this disorder. Still, there were very few treatment options available- exposure therapy was starting to emerge during this time, but most of the soldiers who experienced this was simply medicated and sent on their way. We see, through these options, that treatments were not effective up until very recently when treating persons who suffer from PTSD.

Within this day and time, we see more and more options for treating this disorder. A more sophisticated form of exposure therapy, cognitive processing therapy, stress inoculation training, eye-movement desensitization and processing training, and medication are all treatments that have had highly successful rates within a modern-day context (DeAngelis, 2008, 40). However, a more controversial and innovative type of exposure therapy specifically targeted to war veterans is gun therapy. Due to the “newness” of this procedure, there are not set statistics on the success of this therapy. However, there are definite opinions on both sides of the fence.

Aiding PTSD in War Veterans Through the Use of Gun Therapy

It is important to recognize that gun therapy is not a “psychologist-approved” type of therapy. The newness of this type of rehabilitation has not been evaluated existentially yet, therefore, there is not enough information for this to become standard practice. However, there are certain veterans that have used shooting as something to pull them out of the depression commonly associated with war veterans suffering from PTSD. Paul Rieckhoff, an advocate of gun therapy and founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, makes the point that gun therapy is a good bridge for veterans to use when they aren’t “keen on meeting with a psychiatrist or undergoing therapy sessions” (Merchant, 2013). Essentially, Rieckhoff (and others that advocate for this method) believes that shooting a gun has a tie to the military that is therapeutic- when shooting at a target, the veteran is in control of something and connecting this positive association back to his/her military days (the same days that may be haunting him/her now).

However, there is obvious controversy within this type of therapy. This resistance is from both psychologists and war veterans themselves due to the devastating news that has been in the media over the past year. To begin with, psychologists were initially hesitant to advocate for gun therapy due to the physical triggers that veterans would undergo when shooting. The smell of gunpowder and the sound of the gun going off (Merchant, 2013), for example, are triggers that psychologists predicted could send veterans experiencing PTSD into an anxious episode that could be potentially dangerous for themselves and spectators. Unfortunately, this exact scenario happened within the past year; advocate of this therapy practice and former war veteran, Chris Kyle, was killed on the range by a friend he was attempting to help work through PTSD issues (Merchant, 2013). Due to this unfortunate scenario happening, there has been a multitude of backlash towards this new type of therapy that had been adopted by some. Because of the lack of official testing behind this practice, and this media-grabbing accident, the therapy is exceptionally controversial. On one side of the fence there are veterans who express a release when being around a gun range, and a sense of reestablished worth and pride for previously serving their country; on the other, there are incidents in which veterans who have tried this type of therapy have fallen to severe anxiety when being exposed to the reminder of being in action.

Because of this, it is difficult to state the effectiveness of this therapy. Before the murder of Chris Kyle, there was a buzz about gun therapy and the benefits associated with this form of treatment. Through testimonies from war veterans, there had been several successes in terms of reestablished feelings of intrinsic control and worth; however, this was short-lived. Nevertheless, it is important to take into account that there has not been published accounts of how psychologists could have interacted with war veterans by utilizing gun therapy; there is an obviously safer component associated with gun therapy if there were to be a trained professional recognizing whether or not the veteran was equipped to handle the experience. Tying from this idea, there is a new movement now that psychologists do support that emphasizes the use of video games to aid war veterans suffering from PTSD; this seems to be overwhelmingly more benign in terms of worst-case scenarios (Vernburg, 2009). Veterans are still able to reenact their experiences with warfare and gun handling without the danger of reacting too extremely to the actual weapon.

Conclusion

When making the decision on the effectiveness of gun therapy on war veterans suffering from PTSD, it is important to initially recognize what PTSD is and the history of this disorder. From there, this therapy needs to be looked at within a spectrum of severity of the veterans suffering from the disorder and in what ways their mental and emotional spheres can be positively and negatively affected by the treatment.

References

DeAngelis, T. (2008). PTSD treatments grow in evidence, effectiveness. American Psychological Association, 39(1), 40. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/jan08/ptsd.aspx

Friedman, M. (2014). PTSD History and Overview. Retrieved from U.S Department of Veteran Affairs website: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/PTSD-overview/ptsd-overview.asp

Merchant, N. (2013, February 5). Killing of Chris Kyle, Ex-Navy SEAL Sniper, Highlights Risk of 'Gun Therapy' for Veterans. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/05/chris-kyle-gun-therapy_n_2626007.html

National Institute of Mental Health (2010). NIMH · Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml

Verburg, S. (2009, November 11). New therapy helps vets overcome PTSD. Wisconsin State Journal, The (Madison, WI).