When I visualize a traditional therapist’s office, and then a military boot camp . . .
. . . I come up with two very different images.
It might seem obvious to those of us within the helping professions that, in order for treatment to be effective, we need to match the intervention to the person sitting in front of us.
But what if our own life experiences are so vastly different from our client’s that we’re barely speaking the same language?
And, is it possible we don’t even realize the degree to which unfamiliarity with another’s way of life impacts our ability to offer help?
That’s the situation my good friend Belleruth Naparstek found herself in when working with soldiers suffering from symptoms related to PTSD. She discovered that the typical approach we, as practitioners, take when working with soldiers didn’t translate well into the language and customs of the military.
I admire Belleruth because she didn’t allow unfamiliarity with military culture to stand in the way of getting help to wounded men and women who truly need it.
Her work offers an example of what can happen when we reach far beyond our own cultural inclinations and open our hearts to connect with the unfamiliar.
Take a look at the video below to see how she and one particular soldier bridged their communication gap in order to help him begin to find relief from PTSD.
Every time I post this video, people have asked where they can find these resources, so here’s the link.
Now I’m not an affiliate or anything, and if you decide to purchase anything from Belleruth or Health Journeys, I will not receive a commission. It’s just good stuff and I thought you’d like to know about it.
And there’s one more reason . . .
. . . according to the National Institute of Mental Health, millions of people in the United States suffer from
PTSD, but less than half of those diagnosed with the disorder have received treatment.
As we think about the sacrifices of men and women who have laid down their lives in military service, I also want to highlight the challenges that many face when they return home.
If you or someone you know is suffering from symptoms related to PTSD, I hope you’ll share this video with them.
Now I’d like to hear from you. How might Belleruth’s experience in working with Sergeant Rauls change your approach with clients suffering from PTSD? Please let us know in the comments section below.
This is brilliant. Thank you for posting.
I will pass this on to several of my Meditation students.
Thanks
Jerry Ashmore
Sr. Dharma Teacher
Kwan Um School Of Zen
I remembered it from a course ( trauma/ PTSD) some years ago.
First, I couldn’t believe it and at that time thought it was a joke.( why? Cultural difference)
Now some years later ,I know that I also can have some difficulties with listening to certain
Voices. For a relaxation cd ,for some reason I prefer to listen to the voice of a man.
There is one app with a woman with a pronounced lisp.When I first heard it I was completely stressed.
So , I can for 100% understand that soldier.
At a certain age , we builded up our own history and that is different for everyone!
We all carry or own backpack with memories of the past .
So,I think that perhaps we can say we start all from a different place when we start with some kind of meditation,relaxation……..
In my opinion if we psychotherapists,healers,ect , open our heart and let our intuition flows and listen to it,won’t need to think or realized whats best work when we treat different people
It would be great if this was something someone could purchase to have on their iPhone or Android phone. Is the MP3 downloadable on a phone?
Thank you for this!
Ok, now I am thinking…I work with remote Indigenous people across a huge cultural divide. Many are calm and quiet (listen deeply and take a while to respond to questions) but many move quickly from emotion to reaction such as yelling and rage (especially parenting). I adapt my voice and way of being to reflect who I am with and I am wondering if this is why I am finding it difficult choosing a way to present mindful parenting to a group. One to one voice and body language can be intune (I first heard about it in NLP & now mirror neurones). But if I had to think of a way to introduce a session to a rowdy mob I could take some pointers from this intro. But I don’t think I could do it. Like this intro I would need a rowdy person to intro it. “Right you mob, get over here, listen up!” I will stick to doing the intro for people who are quiet, maybe even a bit introverted. So maybe look deeper than group culture (work, religion, way of being) and consider the individual. Make use of the mirror neurones to connect. But if you are producing tapes it is good to have a wide range and consider who you are trying to reach.
My brother was a soldier and I suffer PTSD vicariously…This is helpful.
Many thanks to Belleruth for being open to the client’s experience and military culture of machismo. In the presence of intense stress and danger, being on the offense seems like the best defense. Unfortunately, this “badass” attitude doesn’t work well in the civilian culture. I highly recommend that therapists who want to work with military personnel get involved with Give an Hour (www.gah.org) for the training & experience of working with the warrior class.
Excellent work! My focus has recently changed from working with the military to working with Correctional Workers. It would be wonderful to have an intro that would engage other first responders in a similar way as many would not relate to the culture of the military. So, perhaps an intro geared to law enforcement?
Thank you for this great tool.
It makes my heart sing when we helping professionals find courage to step out of our own over-learned mind-sets sufficiently to permit the openness, creativity, and freshness of approach necessary to be of real service to those significantly different from ourselves lead the way. This is such an example, a sterling pointer toward the essential qualities of real-world help, and a beautiful teaching toward our finding that courage and good sense within ourselves to be the people of service we hope to be. Thank you for it. And please thank Dave for his invaluable contribution.
With singing heart,
Kevin
This is awesome. So on point for understanding culture.
Brilliant
This is fantastic, having spent 17 years with an ex Royal Marine, who had had 15 years of service from the age of 17… I was this Love and Light lady involved in many forms of healing, I just thought I had to Love and keep loving, after all those years of trying to reach him with out any of this new knowledge on trauma, I was nearly dead myself…. When I left.. I would notice the only way I could in the rare moment reach him would be if I would write out the point I would want to get across, sort sharpe with the reason why and what felt like to me bark them at him, and on occasion it would work, I was able to get him to let go of the knife under the pillow… After all the years of verbal abuse, and psychotic episodes and hearing the awful stories, over and over, I felt I had been in the marines myself… The time he would show emotion was at Christamas when there were programmes of old soldiers being honoured he would sob.
And his eyes would relax and I could see his light… I so wish I had had the amazing information that is now available for service people… The suffering is unbearable, I sobbed listening to Dave, and what he went through I with his son, who in my world sacrificed himself to show his dad what he had going on, and now so many will benefit, please God. I know my ex would have been right with Dave and would have been compelled to go with it… The level of terror they have lived really needs to be addressed by one who has been there to met them first to be lead to a trusted person…I watched my ex, he trusted a soldier more than his own mother who loved him. This is great work thank you for sharing.
You have my ATTENSHUN Dave! having worked with Vets and active personnel in Georgia with a now retired Trauma counselor and Psychotherapist Harold McRae, I learnt this approach from him. Thank you for having the courage to speak out and enlighten both therapists and those in need of our services. Best to you and yours.
Thank you for sharing again Ruth and Belleruth for your wonderful work.
I cried while I listened to this video as it really touched home in more ways than one. As the daughter of a WWII concentration camp liberator, who never spoke of his experience but who carried the trauma with him for life and turned to alcohol to deal with it, I have experienced first hand what untreated PTSD and alcoholism can do to the person and to the entire family. As an adult nearing retirement, I have carried this trauma with me my entire life as well, helplessly watching it interfere with every aspect of my life, living with fear, anxiety, stress and depression. I, like Dave, scoffed at meditation, guided imagery, mindfulness, etc. primarily because of the music, the incense, those sweet voices, the ties to religion, and on and on. I resisted, and I continued suffering. Not until someone passed me this website two years ago and I began listening to all the wonderful professionals, did I begin to take imagery, mindfulness, etc. seriously, so much so that I have embarked on a master’s degree in relaxation, meditation and mindfulness at age 60. Dave’s intro to the guided imagery lines up perfectly with a concept in music therapy: you have to meet the person where he is before you can bring him to a state of relaxation or to an energized state, if that is what is indicated. If he is excited or agitated, play exciting music and gradually change the music to bring him down. If he is sad, begin with sad music and gradually play more lively music. So it makes perfect sense to me to meet the soldier with the tone that he is accustomed to and slowly bring him to a state of calm or mindfulness. Kudos to Dave. Kudos to Belleruth. and Kudos for nicabm for all the wonderful work you do. And I wonder if Dave would consider not only doing the intro but also leading the imagery itself, shifting from the drill seargent voice into a slow, calm relaxation inducing voice. Anyone have any thoughts on that? On its effect?
Wonderful idea!
I’d buy that CD. I feel like a woman’s voice is like growing an internal mother vibe inside and I’d love to add his to the internal father and tough voice which for many of us feels more authentic anyhow.
Fantastic experience sharing, thank you so much both of you. This is fantastic, seriously interesting and incredible. It makes complete sense though, Katherine
Very nice introduction. I found it appropriate for the target audience.
Which CD has Sgt. Rauls intro> This is one I would like to get. Thanks
Hi, Bonnie. Thanks for your interest.
Dave Raul’s intro is on the Mind-Body Exercises for Self-Mastery audio (Ft Sills Resiliency Series), which can be found here.
Many thanks to Ruth Buczynski for spreading the word about this and so many other practical tools and strategies to help our clients – always at the cutting edge… Cannot keep up with that woman. 🙂
Belleruth is very well respected in the field of clinical hypnosis. (I’ve been happy to promote Belleruth’s guided visualizations to my clients, for years.) The new introduction to the PTSD album is a little shocking at first. However, I can see how this very forceful, instructive and informative ‘get to reality’ direct speaking could connect to military lifestyle people, and get them to ‘Just Do It’.
Being instructed to step outside your comfort zone and do what is required, might work well for people who have been directed to step outside of their comfort zone many times in the line of duty. The volume and cadence lowers a little at the end of the new opening… although perhaps not as fully ‘leading’ a person from high tension towards calm, as a professional like Belleruth might do.
The main point is getting connected: anything that can get people connected to the resources that will allow meaningful healing to occur becomes a good choice. In the face of great personal loss, this man did not ‘take the easy way out’. Instead of complaining into the wind, he got heard, stepped up to the plate, and made a difference. I admire people who take action on their beliefs, and especially this soldier.
Janice, I hear you. Many civilian therapists are shocked by this intro. But, believe it or not, many current and former service personnel find that opener *comforting*, because it’s what they heard and did (or something very much like it) every morning, day after day… and we keep getting told, over and over, that there’s comfort and reassurance in the familiarity of the language, the humor, the references, the culture. .. In fact, I was just talking to a retired Navy officer the other day, who just discovered this intro, and who was telling me how much he loved hearing this, and how strongly he related to it. A great reminder of the power of culture!!
I listened to this last Friday, 6/27 and pretty much cried through the whole thing. I was what is called a “Volunteer First Responder” at the Boston Marathon. I witnessed both bombs and saw all of the victims of the first bomb as they were brought through my Security sector which includes the front of the Medical Tent. In the past year I have had individual therapy (which wasn’t very helpful), EMDR therapy (which was short term and helpful) and attended an 8 week group therapy program with other “invisible victims”. I thought I was doing well and even worked again as a Volunteer Captain at this year’s Marathon. I was surprised by the intensity of my reaction to your video and called to order your materials. Your customer service rep was wonderful but also a bit concerned that I may not be ready for the package of the book and 9 CDs – I ordered them anyway but am now having second thoughts. Do you have any suggestions? Also, having experienced other traumas during my 68 years, I’m starting to believe that untreated trauma is cumulative and the Marathon experience has given me the opportunity to heal them all but, it’s scary. Thanks!!!
Dear Kathy,
Thank you for your volunteer service, and hats off to you. I’m originally from Boston, and I love you for helping in such difficult circumstances. You say ‘I thought I was doing well’. You *are* doing well. Nobody heals in a straight line. And it’s awesome that you volunteered again – that is huge.
But to answer your question, that set will not be a problem. Those nine exercises are perfectly geared to slowly acclimate you, using basic relaxation first, leading up to the more emotionally evocative grief and trauma imagery. It’s actually the ideal approach. With the book explaining and informing you, even more so. You’ll be prepped enough to handle a reaction if you have one (you’ll need those self-soothing skills for a while when out and about, too), but you’ll also be less likely to have one, because of those skills.
The problem comes (for some people, not others) when they just hop right into the Healing Trauma imagery with no prep.
That is why, at the very least, we recommend listening to Relaxation & Wellness first, to help people develop Relax-at-Will skills before moving on to the trauma imagery. We’ve found this to be especially the case with people suffering from recent trauma that has not been processed; or when early abuse memories are just starting to bubble up the surface, years later. Good to play it safe with some basic relaxation skills first, in those cases.
However, keep in mind that even with jumping cold turkey into the PTS imagery, many people do fine with it – even love listening to it. Often this is the case with pain that has had time to season, and an adult survivor who is ready to heal – they may burst into cathartic tears, but not the distressing kind.
So please keep this in mind. You are a recent survivor of trauma and vicarious trauma, so you should use relaxation first. Again, the set is not a problem – the relaxation is built in as the first phase of healing.
Hope this clarifies your question! Blessings and best wishes. Belleruth
Great demonstration of how one’s way of listening, thinkiing and speaking need to fit the person we are experiencing. Ia Am a Viet Nam era veteran and a retired DOD civilian social worker and really hear Sgt. Rauls loud and clear. Loved it.
Wonderful breakthrough for soldiers, EMTs etc.
I want to add that in addition to her CD’s, I think Belleruth’s book “Invisible Heroes, Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal” is an invaluable resource for practitioners. It is also extremely readable for the person who is healing from trauma. She addresses many origins of trauma, understanding what goes on in trauma and in the process in recovery, the neurophysiology behind these processes, and accounts of how people have healed even from the worst of traumas. There are examples of what others have used to heal, and imagery suggestions/scripts covering a variety of conditions. These printed materials can bypass the interference that arises when someone reacts negatively to a particular voice or style on a CD. A practitioner or survivor can insert their own style and emphasis as needed to bridge the gap, then use one of the recorded CDs for ease of use. However, there are so many heroes like Sgt Rauls that a CD just for them is wonderful!
Regarding PTSD Awareness Day, one of the profound messages in the above-referenced book adds hope to PTSD Awareness Day – people can heal!
A quick thank you for all the advice on PTSD. I will purchase the Dvd’s from Belleruth. Too much trauma in the world! Sad that all the para-military men of service (Police, Firemen) do not use these materials plus a therapist on regular basis. I admire the people who have worked out this program. Thank you all, Linda Carpenter
Excellent! Good for George getting Dave to finally listen. Hurray for Dave actually calling Belleruth to explain the problem to her & how it could be changed & fixed to better reach the soldiers. Kuddos to her for being the excellent therapist who listened to him, took his advice & they worked together to make that exciting and more helpful guided visualization.
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing.
Joya
As the wife of a career soldier, daughter-in-law to a career Marine and friend to many more soldiers, I can tell you this: This video will get their attention. They have been taught to “suck it up and keep on marching” from Basic Training. The challenge will be to get this into the hands of those who need it, but have no clue that they need it, much less how to ask for it. This sort of aid is far over due. I watched an Uncle, permanently disabled in the Korean War die slowly from his own nightmares. One eventually stopped his heart in his sleep. That is a sad way to go. Raising the awareness of how real PTSD is, not just for soldiers, but anyone recovering from serious traumas, can only be done by sharing the value of the real outcomes from people using things like this video as part of their own process. PTSD has been around as long as there has been violence. It only got named a real identifiyable mental health issue in the last few decades. Pretty sad. The loved ones of those suffering can speak volumes for the struggles these folks face. The violence in their homes can be directly related, without a doubt. I can imagine how this fits into the bigger scheme of world peace. How about you?
So thankfull is there something to help our soldiers. How greatful I am to them. I can’t even imagine the horror of what they’ve experienced.I can only hope this type of imagery can become available to all of our heros.
Thanks
Which specific CD has this introduction? Thank you!
Thank you for all the generous and informative commentary! Here is a link to the program that has this intro.
Hope that helps.
All Best,
BR
I have gotten several guided imagerys from healthyjourney.com.iit has a lot to do with the sound of voice. They have samples you can listen to a head of time. Deepok chopra also has a great series.
Love it! Tx for putting this out. It’s heartening to have trauma addressed in this authentic way for this sub culture.
I want an equivalent tape for type A Criminal Lawyers with whom I work!!!
My Dear Ruth,
I am hearten by the continue info that I gain from your website. I am a survivor of childhood trauma and I am now 70. I am still working on those issues. As of the last few years so much info has come my way. I knew for years, in fact over 40 years ago that my problems were PSTD but could never find any real help. EFT and many other healing modalities are now available for those seeking healing. Everything on your website has provided some awareness and bought help. I thank you from the bottome of my heart.
Warm regards Valerie
Wow! He hit the nail right on the head! Dave is amazing and I tell you what… Guided Imagery got me through an extremely difficult illness and although I’m not fully well my mind and spirit are in tip top shape… and I think your work is to blame… well, in great part to blame! Thank you!!!
I know someone kind of like Dave who could use it if he could only get to it…. stay with it long enough to actually get to the imagery. Got any young post adolescent male versions? 🙂
I find the word ‘blame’ negative. There is NEVER any blame only lessons. When we take responsibility 100% for our own lives blame is never in the equation.
Valerie,
I think that word was meant ironically.
All best,
Belleruth
thank you for all this information, vert interesting and enlightening.
rose
Let’s just say I wouldn’t be ginvig you the amount of time I am ginvig you if I didn’t think you were a VERY SPECIAL PERSON INDEED.You go through life and come across plenty of moaners, whingers and down right selfish people, who are of sound mind body, spending their days complaining about how unfair their life is. Then you come across someone like you, who has put their life on the line to keep us all safe, who has experienced the worst this world can throw at you and now suffers in silence.I cannot even begin to know what life with PTSD is like but thanks to finding you on Twitter I am at least understanding what it is. Every single day someone who hadn’t even heard of PTSD now knows what it is thanks to you.
When ego has been scraped from the layers of collected debris, and the spirit is able to breath, the outcome of knowing our true self is consciousness with no limits! I loved this and am grateful to have had it gifted to me! Namaste
SPOT ON!!
Robert
I loved this! I feel that this could be utilized in so many ways, not just with soldiers. This would be so helpful for teens, drug/alcohol abuse, anyone whose stress has a certain group of people related to it, using a similar introduction as this one. I have always felt that if people had a better way to treat their stress they would never have to use drugs/alcohol. This could be that very treatment. Thank you for creating this, I’m positive that many people have been touched and helped by this. I hope you are able to get this information into many hands and helpers.
I have been practicing imagery for transformation based on Colette’ Aboulker Muscat teachings for the past fifteen years and am using the work for many emotional and physical stresses with great success. I have also served in the Israeli military and am well aware of that culture.
I believe that Belleruth is right on the money. Always meet the person where they are at. The art of Imagery as I experience it, is to create a concentrated mix of language and images tailored to that particular person’s inner construct and circumstances, to create a quick jolt while gazing inside.
I look forward to hear more about the work with the militarily or first responders in general.
Thank you for sharing this again.
Belleruth’s work is amazing and incredibly effective! I have found, however, that many people are initially quite skeptical, finding it quite “weird” or “woo woo”. I love how the sergeant’s intro addresses many aspects of that resistance.
Is there a way that I can access only the sergeant’s intro (without the conversation between Belleruth & Ruth, which is directed more towards clinicians) so that I can make that portion available to my students prior to them using the guided imagery?
I am wondering if there is a link that only includes that or is there a recording that can be purchased with his intro at the beginning of a guided imagery practice for PTSD?
Thanks for all of your wonderful work
Mary, the intro is on the Self-Mastery audio program, which is here.
However, we do have the intro by itself on iTunes because we got so many requests for it. You can also find it here.
Hi Mary,
You can use this link to download the intro only.
Or you can use this link for the program that has the intro.
Thanks!
Katelin – NICABM Staff
I watched this video the first time. I liked the approach and spefically the focus on understanding the client’s history and connecting with it by being culturally sensitive. I look forward to checking out health journeys site.
A great example of ” meeting our clients where they are”. Thank you.
I teach mindfulness and emotional intelligence skills in prisons and have used Belleruths’ tapes many times. Of course prisons are filled with PTSD. I was a bit leery at first thinking that the prisoners would think the music and imagery was too ‘woo woo’ but in fact they most all of them became very relaxed and calm and reported they loved it. Highly recommend these tapes.
Kate, I was concerned about the same thing re incarcerated listeners. Imagine my surprise years ago when I first tested some new guided imagery with a group of prisoners and discovered that this population responds better and more positively than practically any other I’ve ever demonstrated guided imagery to. Such a lovely surprise. Go figure!! 🙂 Thanks for sharing that.
– Dear Krista, the truth of your words is so biufteual it hurts. I love your biufteual heart. Fear can only breed more fear. I think that all those people who offer love and acceptance as a reward for some standard of behavior are doing so because they have the same fear in their hearts that they would try to destroy us with. They do not truly believe the love of Christ. They do not truly believe the unconditional, perfect, and completely sufficient love of God our Father. They are afraid that they will not measure up to His standard (which of course they couldn’t without his grace) and so they create misery for themselves and everyone in their power. I recently heard faith described as resting your full weight on Christ like dropping down in a strong and comfortable chair after a weary day’s work. Those who manipulate and harm us have no idea what it means to have faith, to rest. And so they use religiosity and a twisted gospel to justify themselves and their cruelty. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. What makes me feel loved? My darling husband and dearest friend who knows me and my frailties more intimately than anyone else, and still comes home to me everyday with open arms, encouraging words, and sweet, unconditional love.
Brilliant and on-point empathy–what a gift!!
To Christina in San Antonio:
Make an appt with some psychotherapist or at least call or see a completely trusted best friend today! Compassion Fatigue is possibly what you are going through. In any event, this distress is not something you must do completely on your own, inside your own head. You need someone’s help for a while to put your distress in perspective and to regain your balance. This is a multi-step process often starting with putting your distress into spoken words to another person, and then moving into many possible helping practices including meditative breathing, guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation and other practices. Just because you feel too overwhelmed to feel success with guided imagery right now doesn’t mean that another method along with putting your distress into words with another person cannot help you deal with this. Good luck!
thank you
thank you
Sometimes it is necesary to use other peoples way of looking at the world to reach them. I had no trouble relating this way to young children, but when it came to teens it was almost imposible unitl I could see things from their point of view. I’m the one going through these conflicts and I can’t seem to fit into the program. I guess what I need is ti think of how I best settled when I was younger, i’m not sure how to this, but I know I’m no longer any heip to those who couldn’t cpe with life. And I am the one needing some help in cooping with life. If yo have any ideas I welcome them. I’m not able at the moment to concentrate on imagery when I can’t hold a thought fo ver long. I’m in pain, can’t function and am unable to follow through with my plans. If you have any ideas i would appreciate it. Thank you
This is really great, its encouraging that there a people who actually listen to the different people and start helping the people where they are at and not expect the client to fit the so called text book image.
What a great example of linguistic/cultural pacing. Thank you
I’ve found that the principle of this intro holds true for the work with other subcultures as well. Working with teenagers for example is facilitated by being open to their language and even using their metaphors i.e. ‘pacing’ with your languaging. Working with stiff-upper-lip people is enhanced by introducing your work in their linguistic and mental paradigm, etc. Somehow, I feel, we have to be able to be chameleons: not play-acting, but drawing from our “other sides” experiences. If we don’t have these, we need to learn about them.
This is so interesting how ‘institutionalised’ soldiers become. As a soul it is not in our heart to harm or cause death to another soul. This creates trauma within the soul. We need to evolve to understand that wars go against our life lesson of LOVE IS ALL THERE IS.
This is so moving my whole body is tingling and alive with goosebumps. Thank you