Intensive therapies emerge as PTSD treatments

Air Force veteran Dr. Craig Bryan is focused on conducting research to improve treatments to prevent suicide and promote recovery from PTSD among military personnel and veterans.

Bryan, an American Legion member, is this month’s guest on The American Legion Be the One podcast, where he talks about joining the service after the 9/11 attacks, his career and new advancements in suicide prevention. The self-professed “accidental psychologist” is now director of Ohio State University’s Division of Recovery and Resilience, where intensive therapies are starting to show promise. 

His career was heavily influenced by his time in the military, where he was a clinical psychologist who deployed to Iraq in 2009. He focused on treating combat stress and PTSD. 

“We were doing these out-of-the-box ideas,” he recalls. “People were getting blown up and we were treating them very aggressively. Multiple times a day doing therapy sessions. And it was working. It was mind-blowing and many of us brought those lessons back to the States.”

That battlefield experience led Bryan and other psychologists to adapt the concept of more timely therapy sessions. It’s been a continuous thread of learning. 

Earlier this summer Bryan gave a presentation, “Evidence-Based Suicide Prevention Practices,” which covered new research and analysis on various treatment methods, at the third annual VA Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration conference.

During his deployment Bryan saw first-hand the brutality of suicide. “It took on a whole new meaning,” he says. “It was very transformative. I can see now that my career, as a researcher and a clinician, really took a turn at that point.” 

His work has led to the development of psychotherapies like brief cognitive behavioral therapy, which reduces suicide attempts among military personnel by 60% as compared to traditional mental health treatments. He is now trying to determine how to make these treatments work even better. That's the focus of an ongoing research study at Ohio State University.

The study compares two therapies that have been shown to reduce suicidal ideation among military personnel and veterans. It’s the first head-to-head comparison of two effective therapies. 

Bryan values the relationship with The American Legion. 

“One of the big areas we’ve been partnering with The American Legion on is helping veterans become aware of are research studies and projects so they can enroll and receive psychotherapy at no cost. In exchange, we can understand the therapies better and ways to make them work with more potency.”

For the full episode, as well as more than 260 other podcast episodes from The American Legion, visit legion.org/tangoalphalima

This episode is the 12th in the Be the One series. The others:

Part one: Marine Corps veteran Waco Hoover, who oversees the Be the One strategy, talks about its next phase. “We’re doing an extensive amount of research and also looking for suggestions from our community about who we should be aligned with,” he said. “We have to have a conversation about this issue, this topic.”

Part two: Air Force veteran Dr. Regan Stiegmann discusses how lifestyle medicine can play a role in the reduction of veterans who die by suicide.

Part three: Dr. Ruth Moore is a survivor of suicide, which she attempted after leaving the Navy in 1987 following Military Sexual Trauma assaults. After earning her Ph.D. in Mind-Body Medicine, she now helps veterans and others dealing with trauma and related issues.

Part four: Former Army Apache helicopter pilot Adam Marr, a member of American Legion Post 12 in Dothan, Ala., shares how he has helped organize, operationalize and advocate for innovative solutions to the veteran mental health and suicide crisis since 2015.

Part five: Former Navy SEAL Marcus Capone found relief in psychedelics for his post-service transition issues after a “downward spiral” of seven years. Now, Marcus and his wife, Amber, are helping other veterans facing similar struggles.

Part six: Marine Corps veteran Tim Jensen recalls his military service, downward spiral and connecting with Grunt Style that led him on a path to healing.

Part seven: Marine Corps veteran Juliana Mercer discusses her work to support veterans, using psychedelic therapies for PTSD symptoms and advocacy for MDMA-assisted therapy.

Part eight: Retired Navy SEAL Jason Redman has mastered the “art of getting through tough times.” He discusses resilience, leadership and more.

Part nine: Army veteran George Eshleman set out to hike the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail with one purpose: taking his life. But along the way, he found hope, camaraderie and purpose, and his journey is now told in a documentary, “The Keeper.”

Part 10: Air Force veteran Dr. Tiffany Tajiri, a trained psychologist, talks about her faith-based recovery book, steps to overcome suicidal ideation and more. 

Part 11: Dr. Chris Frueh, the son of an Air Force veteran, talks about how his dad’s military experience sent him on a path to help veterans as a clinical psychologist.

The next Be the One episode will drop Sept. 1. All episodes are available in both audio and video formats here as well as on Apple Podcasts and other major podcast-hosting sites. The video version is available at the Legion’s YouTube channel