How do we help our veterans who are returning from war with PTSD? Our DVD provides an intimate conversation with Dr. Frank Ochberg, as he shares his experiences, seasoned insights and suggestions. This program is for the mental health practitioner who has treated a variety of clients including those traumatized by abusive relationships, sexual assault, disasters, Sept 11, and violent crime. Dr. Ochberg feels that treating veterans is a privilege and he shares his experiences dealing with veterans from the Vietnam era, Afghanistan and Iraq. He welcomes those therapists who are supporting our returning men and women as they adapt to civilian life.
Topics include:
*Unique Challenges *Tools of the Trade *The Loss of Emotional Tone *Remittent Depression
*Family Issues *Military Sexual Trauma *The Patient & Therapist Relationship* The Counting Method.
Running Time: 57:41 Available in DVD
PRICE
$60 Individual
$120 Institutional/Group Viewing
CEU call for financial arrangement
Order DVD.
View Video Clips:
Treating PTSD is a Privilege | The Battlefields at Home | Tapping Into The Emotion
Military Sexual Trauma | Survivor Guilt
Reviews:
DVD Review
“PTSD & Veterans: A Conversation with Dr. Frank Ochberg”
John D. Lentz, D.Min.
Shepherdsville, KY
T h e Mi l t o n H. E r i c k s o n F o u n d a t i o n
NEWSLETTER
SM
Vol. 31, No. 1 SPRING 2011
In watching PTSD and Veterans,A Conversation with Frank OchbergMD, and interviewed by reporter, Mike Walters, you get more than you might expect. To begin with, Ochberg was one of the team who wrote the definition of PTSD for the DSM. Second, you are privy to a very knowledgeable interviewer who asks the kind of questions you would ask if you were present. Furthermore, the conversation is punctuated with scenes from soldiers and their families illustrating the topics being discussed. The photography is excellent and emotionally provocative, so that it helps communicate the messages of hope and the profound effect of PTSD for returning soldiers. I watched the version licensed for individual viewing. On first viewing the DVD, you might be lulled into thinking this is a superficial discussion because of the sophisticated photography and Ochberg’s genial nature. The further you get into it, the more you realize you are being offered an incredible gift. Ochberg affirms for therapists how all of us deal with trauma in general, and he normalizes the problem of soldiers with PTSD in a way that empowers therapists to help them. He does that with domestic pictures of traumatic events that all of us have heard of, and then proceeds to encourage you to realize that you deal with trauma all the time and have your own style of coping that works for you. For this reason, I believe that many schools of psychotherapy could and would want to show the version licensed for teaching purposes. It is affirming to all schools of psychotherapy and can help everyone to recognize that they have paths that are useful and may even be different than the typical ones. The further you get into the DVD, the more Ochberg teaches you. He has a wonderfully affirming approach that leads you to feel good before he introduces material that is more emotionally difficult.
In a similar fashion, Ochberg offers some of his insights about healing PTSD through what he calls the counting method. Early on, he suggests that at some point the client will probably want to do more healing work, and would benefit from the counting method. It is actually quite sophisticated even though it can be explained simply. When he thinks people are ready, he takes them through this procedure of his counting while re-experiencing the scenes that have been plaguing them in flashbacks. It is surprisingly helpful, and he claims that people only need to go through the exercise once. The more I thought about what he is doing, the more impressed I was. The method does not re-traumatize people, but instead allows them a safe place to experience a flashback, which then helps them to feel okay about themselves and to put the trauma into perspective in a good way.
I recommend this DVD to anyone treating PTSD, and especially to those dealing with returning returning soldiers.DVD Review
“PTSD & Veterans: A Conversation with Dr. Frank Ochberg”
Charles A. Pfaff, Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army
Dr. Frank Ochberg understands post-traumatic stress syndrome and in this program provides a comprehensive and accessible account describing what PTSD is, how one can recognize it, and how one can deal with it. Ultimately, Dr. Ochberg’s message is a message of hope. While the costs of leaving PTSD un-treated are high; the costs of treating it are not. Those with the syndrome can be treated and continue to serve in the military. This video is a must-see for all military leaders who wish to understand, mitigate, and de-stigmatize the effects of this illness that affects many of our soldiers.Reviews:
DVD Review
“PTSD & Veterans: A Conversation with Dr. Frank Ochberg”
Megan Turak
Executive Vice-President
The Military Family Network
www.emilitary.org”PTSD & Veterans: A Conversation with Dr. Frank Ochberg” is Gift From Within’s response to the overwhelming demand on our military service members and their families for repeated deployments and the likelihood that these service members and families reside in remote communities located outside of military bases and formal channels of military support. Therefore, Gift From Within seeks to increase the knowledge, skills, tools and resources of civilians likely to be involved with the military community in these instances.
The intended audience for this DVD is professionals, clinicians, counselors or really anyone seeking to understand more about PTSD and this is especially true for those coming into direct contact with military service members, veterans and their families. Dr. Ochberg provides meaningful insights into understanding the roots of PTSD, its causes and expression while offering professionals advice, techniques and innovative perspectives on how to approach treatment with individuals suffering from trauma who may be experiencing symptoms of PTSD. Most importantly, however, he offers hope both to the professional and the individual that a quality life – albeit a changed life- can be restored. He demonstrates how professionals, who may never have encountered this special population in their day-to-day practices, can use their diverse educational and experiential backgrounds in unique ways to help. This DVD is a “must-watch” for everyone coming into contact with our military community under these circumstances and for our military, political and veteran leadership as well since Dr. Ochberg provides keen observations about how our current system for ensuring benefits based on diagnosis may work against the long term well being of the service member and veteran.DVD Review
“PTSD & Veterans: A Conversation with Dr. Frank Ochberg”
David Read Johnson, Ph.D. and Hadar Lubin, MD, Directors, Post Traumatic Stress Center, New Haven, Connecticut; and the Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine
“This remarkable DVD brings wise words from a wise man, Dr. Frank Ochberg, on the treatment of returning veterans from the Iraq war. Dr. Ochberg, a pioneer in traumatic stress, is interviewed by reporter Mike Walters on all aspects of PTSD, trauma, and the truly humanistic treatment of suffering individuals. Emphasizing a thoughtful, holistic, and optimistic view of PTSD, Dr. Ochberg provides expert guidance to clinicians on handling the dual needs of support and exposure that are essential elements to PTSD treatment today. Relying on up-to-date research, Dr. Ochberg speaks cogently and sincerely about the use of medications, specialized techniques, and basic therapeutic strategies that will be most useful to therapists confronted with the challenges posed by returning veterans. This is a beautiful, moving, and professionally-produced DVD that should be seen by every therapist who works with PTSD patients.”DVD Review
“PTSD & Veterans: A Conversation with Dr. Frank Ochberg”
Dr. Kathleen Nader is a clinician and consultant who has worked, nationally and internationally, for over 20 years in the field of Trauma, Violence and Bereavement.
“PTSD & Veterans: A Conversation With Dr. Frank Ochberg,” is a DVD for clinicians who might find themselves anticipating work with war veterans. It is a well-filmed and nicely presented interview with Dr. Frank Ochberg, a pioneer in the field of trauma. Although the DVD’s primary focus is soldiers and aspects of treating their responses to current war experiences, Dr. Ochberg speaks about issues important to clinicians who treat trauma, in general, as well as those specific to treating soldiers traumatized by war. Dr. Ochberg provides the prerequisites for work with veterans and important cautions for therapists new to work with trauma survivors. Among the relevant issues elaborated are expectations for recovery; symptoms such as traumatic imagery, injuries to the self, and loss of normalcy; collaborating with families; and survivor guilt. Dr. Ochberg discusses the use of a method that, when well-timed, can be used effectively as a part of treatment (the counting method). This DVD provides answers to a well-chosen set of questions about working with war veterans and other trauma-exposed adults. It is an important media presentation for new clinicians and trauma clinicians anticipating work with veterans.Back to DVD HomepageDVD Review
“PTSD & Veterans: A Conversation with Dr. Frank Ochberg”
Dr. Bonnie Green. Professor of Psychiatry, Director of Research, and Director of Trauma Studies in the School of Medicine at Georgetown University Hospital.
I enjoyed the DVD. The program conveys a hopeful message to therapists about treating individuals with PTSD, and normalizes and demystifies PTSD in a way that should make therapists more comfortable working with these patients. It provided a good clinical characterization of the disorder that will give therapists a real feel for PTSD and for how it is to work with these patients. There were many practical suggestions and a strong grounding in traditional psychotherapy practice. The section on military sexual trauma was excellent in helping the therapist to understand the perspective of the women who have experienced this (e.g., that is it’s like a family trauma/incest). “PTSD & Veterans With Dr. Frank Ochberg,” was very upbeat with an optimistic tone but it is also realistic about the work involved and the outcomes.DVD Review
“PTSD & Veterans: A Conversation with Dr. Frank Ochberg”
Carl C. Bell, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago
President/C.E.O. Community Mental Health Council
“Gift From Within and Frank M. Ochberg, M.D. strike video gold again. Their newest program, “PTSD & Veterans – A Conversation with Frank Ochberg” provides a pleasant, deep understanding of PTSD that provides specific focus on our honored U.S. Veterans. Dr. Ochberg shares outstanding scientific knowledge, metaphors, and wisdom with reporter Mike Walter in a peaceful, clear manner that is able to provide simple, easy to understand explanations of the complex phenomena of PTSD with its various forms and manifestations. Clearly, Dr. Ochberg has had tremendous experience with understanding and treating PTSD and is an exemplary teacher and communicator on this sensitive issue. With our veterans returning from war, this is a must see program for everyone with a loved one who was in war.”DVD Review
“PTSD & Veterans: A Conversation with Dr. Frank Ochberg”
J. Eric Gentry, PhD, LMHC
Compassion Unlimited
www.compassionunlimited.com
Many sparkling gems of insight into the complexities of treating combat PTSD are mined in this heartfelt film that draws from Frank Ochberg’s 30+ years of working with traumatic stress. Important themes of solid, evidence-based, trauma treatment are applied toward treating our returning veterans. It is a wonderful primer for those beginning or considering treating this quickly growing and very deserving client population.