Wellness program at River Hospital offers PTSD services for veterans

Nov. 11--Tweet

ALEXANDRIA BAY -- On Veterans Day, it makes sense to reflect on the women and men who have served the nation and consider how to best help them in thanks for their sacrifices.

Since its inception in February 2013, the River Community Wellness Program at the River Hospital campus in Alexandria Bay has graduated 373 soldiers and veterans from its outpatient PTSD program.

RCWP is a partial hospitalization program, during which men and women with post-traumatic stress disorder spend five hours a day, Monday through Friday, for six to eight weeks in treatment. It's an intensive intervention option that includes group and individual counseling, art and "in vivo" therapy, health education, anger management and much more based on the needs of the men and women at the time.

RCWP started with a single group of soldiers receiving combat trauma counseling. Today there are groups for both combat and non-combat trauma, and for soldiers and veterans alike. There is also a combat trauma group with rolling admission so that soldiers don't have to wait to get help.

The program employs 10 medical and mental health practitioners. It is the only civilian-run outpatient treatment program for soldiers with PTSD in the nation. According to Director Bradley D. Frey, many soldiers have benefitted by seeking treatment off-post, in a building they can enter anonymously, with civilian counselors.

Mr. Frey, a physician assistant, spent 25 years in the Army, served overseas, and spent the final 11 years of his service at Fort Drum.

The program was begun at the request of the U.S. Army and Fort Drum officials after talks with River Hospital. That same year, when Army officials decided to discontinue referring patients to the program, participants, locals and legislators fought to keep it open -- at least while the need still existed.

Three years later and the program is not just going strong but growing. It was just this year that services were expanded to veterans.

"It means a lot to me personally to be able to do the work that I do, to help soldiers still in uniform and veterans," Mr. Frey said. "We owe a lot to Fort Drum. We owe a lot to the men and women that serve. They deserve the best we have to offer."

When it comes to mental health, success can be hard to measure. The counselors track and trend things like self-reporting PTSD checklists, but the most concrete proof comes from the soldiers themselves.

"It's difficult to measure, but I hear stories every day," Mr. Frey said. "Soldiers tell us the program saved their life."

The art therapy room is perhaps where progress is most obviously charted. Mr. Frey said that most go into the program insisting they'll never be able to draw or paint. By the end, they've pulled out vivid, powerful pieces.

River Hospital began the Hope and Healing Capital Campaign earlier this year to fund an expansion and renovation of the RCWP building and other facilities. Money for the project will come almost entirely from public fundraising and donations.

"(Expanding services) just makes sense," Mr. Frey said, "and we're happy to be able to do it."

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