The Solution Focused Approach to Recovery From Combat Stress

THE SOLUTION FOCUSED APPROACH TO RECOVERY FROM COMBAT STRESS

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES/WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES

At the end of the workshop, attendees will be able to:

• Demonstrate an increased understanding of combat stress
• Describe the basic SFBT tools & techniques used with veterans
• Use a variety of specialised tools and techniques for helping personnel move further towards living life well/as full as possible
• Recognise how the specialised techniques can be applied to other types of stress or trauma
• List the main points service users have made about how workers can best be helpful
• Name the pitfalls when working with combat stress and/or other types of stress or trauma
• Highlight the most helpful and useful questions to ask veterans
• List the key ways workers can look after themselves to enable them to undertake this important work
• Feel more confident in their work with a wide range of service users who have experienced combat stress; and other types of stress or trauma

WORKSHOP CONTENT

• Welcome and Introductions
•  Contracting around making it safe for people to work
•  Aims and objectives
•  Outline plan for the 2 days
•  The Solution Focused Approach – basic assumptions, principles & beliefs
• Scaling confidence in working in this field
•  What has been found to have worked in 1-1 work with service personnel/veterans
• What serving personnel and veterans have found helpful 
• The 3 stages: ’victim’; ‘survivor’; ‘living life well’/as full as possible
• The basic tools & techniques of SFBT, as applied to personnel
• Survival skills outlined
• Dealing with anger and ‘the solution focused feelings tank’
• Sticking to ‘the 5 o’clock rule’
• Disclosing/divulging what happened
• The detail: how much is necessary to know?
• Blocks to disclosing
• What equips us to do this work?
• Introducing specialised techniques
• Implications of this type of work for workers and how we look after ourselves
• Getting to know the authentic self/living life well
• The specialised techniques:
  • A message from a guardian angel
  • The “Stop!” technique & ‘replaying the video’ later
  • "That was then, this is now"
  • ‘Dual awareness’ for dealing with intrusive thoughts
  • The rainy day letter
  • Letter from the future + how to use it
  • Write, read and shred/burn
  • ‘Shrinking’ for dealing with flashbacks of incoming missiles
  • "Let it go…    Let it go…    Let it go…"
  • Guided fantasy
  • etc.
•  Purpose and meaning in life                                                        
• How we can improve our practice further, from today
• Workshop roundup/summary
• Recommended reading list
•  Re-scaling confidence
• Course evaluation
• Presentation of certificates