Welcome to this online, self study course of working with active duty/retired members of the Armed Forces.

In this course, we will look at combat related Posttraumatic Stress "dis"-oder and give you an inside look at the military structure - its elements and building blocks.

This course used to be part of an entire training module in pEATT: psychodynamic equine assisted Traumatherapy. pEATT was developed while working primarily with members of the Armed Services. At one point, Eric and I decided to make it its separate course, because not everybody seeking certification in equine assisted traumatherapy automatically wants to work with military service members.

The military population and their families are very important to us. As you will see: Eric, while we were recording, was still active duty (retired now) - and I myself was part of the military community for over 26 years. As military brat, my son decided to attend West Point and he is now serving as officer in the United States Army. While soldiers and veterans afflicted by combat related Stress-Reactions and combat related PTS(d) show many, many elements that also show up when you work with clients with complex PTS(d), there are also specific differences that simply, in our opinion, need to be known. However, you can also take the military as an example for working with first responders. Anybody belonging to a large(r) body and/or organization that can experience trauma or secondary trauma will show some of the characteristics that we are addressing in this "Military Section".

Before we begin, please familiarize yourself with the Teachable platform, including where to find information and how the website is set up.

Below you will find the handout. Please note that in addition to being confidential, it is also copyrighted material. Nevertheless, I have decided to make it downloadable to support your learning experience. It contains not only copyrighted material, but also sensitive, educational-only, confidential client information. Case studies are included throughout the course. Some of these include images of people I work with in a therapeutic setting. I have been given permission to use this material for learning purposes. However, as this is sensitive and confidential information, by downloading it you agree and confirm that you will keep all information about current and past clients confidential and will not share any information you download and/or obtain from this website and this course.

You can print out the handout. To do this, right-click on the "Automatic zoom" icon and select "Open in new tab". There you have the choice to see the handout in full PP view mode. From there, you can right-click on the presentation and select "Print". The handout may be useful for study purposes. Again, also by printing it, you agree to the confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement.

I highly recommend following the course structure. The sections are designed to be viewed in the order given: both the material and the information build on and extend what has come before.

You will retain access to this course for as long as this course is online. And as of Feb. 2024, there is no deadline in view. We therefore invite you to feel free to comment - initiate discussions with others maybe? - and come back once in a while. One of the biggest benefits in the equine assisted field is networking and forming new connections. We sincerely hope that this platform is one that you feel comfortable making some new connections while gaining new insights.

If you have any technical difficulties in using Teachable, please contact me directly at: [email protected]

I hope you enjoy this course and wish you a great learning experience!

Ilka Parent & Eric Warhonowicz