If you build it, they will come.
This isn鈥檛 the saying that comes to mind when thinking of treatment facilities dedicated to anxiety, trauma and PTSD. But it certainly has been the case for a one-of-a-kind clinical research center at 麻豆原创 dedicated to treating those areas for combat veterans and military personnel.
Deborah Beidel joined 麻豆原创 faculty in 2007. Four years later, the Pegasus professor of psychology and medical education founded 麻豆原创 RESTORES, which has changed hundreds of lives since its inception. Through virtual reality, patients are confronted with triggers. They see bombs detonate and smell smoke or gunfire. It鈥檚 like being on the front lines in Iraq or Afghanistan, but instead patients are on 麻豆原创鈥檚 campus.
鈥淗ow do you get over a fear of driving? You have to drive,鈥� says Beidel, who is also the director of 麻豆原创 RESTORES. That鈥檚 the mentality applied in the intensive outpatient format she and her staff use at the clinic.
Since it opened, the clinic has provided no-cost therapy to more than 300 veterans and active duty military and more recently, worked with first responders and victims of mass shootings. Their work has earned national praise and support, including receiving part of the largest alumni gift and being named the winner of the Spring 2018 Marchioli Collective Impact Innovation Award for 鈥渃reating community impacts through partnerships.鈥�
In the clinic, patients are exposed to realistic, individualized, virtual-reality therapy five days a week for three consecutive weeks 鈥� a format avoided in the past for its intensity. It鈥檚 a stark contrast from what鈥檚 the norm in PTSD therapy. Combined with daily group-therapy sessions on anger management, depression, and socialization, the results show speak for themselves. Sixty-six percent of the first 100 patients treated at 麻豆原创 RESTORES no longer had symptoms of PTSD after the three-week treatment, and six months later, only one patient had relapsed. Only 2 percent of patients dropped out of therapy.
鈥淲e have military personnel seeking us out from not only all-around Florida, but all over the U.S.,鈥� says Beidel. 鈥淥ne veteran literally used his last dollar to buy a plane ticket to come to Florida. He walked to our clinic from the airport. If that doesn鈥檛 show we鈥檙e providing a needed service, I don鈥檛 know what would.鈥�
Aware of the need for expanding and improving services, Beidel partnered with Clint Bowers, a fellow Pegasus professor and national expert in the area of training science, to expand offerings for first responders, including educational workshops on peer support training.
On June 12, 2016, 麻豆原创 RESTORES received a phone call from the Orlando Fire Department: 鈥淲e need you down here right now.鈥澛營t was just a few hours after a gunman walked into the Pulse nightclub, killing 49 people and injuring another 53.聽Throughout the next week, 麻豆原创 RESTORES conducted debriefings for the general community and for first responders, and it established a treatment program for first responders and mass shooting victims. And since that time, it has helped 100 first responders and dozens of victims of traumatic events, including survivors of Pulse, Las Vegas and Parkland, FL.
Although started as a research and treatment program for veterans, 麻豆原创 RESTORES is committed to continuing their efforts to provide services not only to veterans, active duty personnel and first responders, but also to all Florida citizens affected by traumatic events.
Beidel says she is proud to be supplying the workforce with individuals who have this unique skill set. That鈥檚 why she makes it a point to recruit veterans to the doctoral program, as they are committed to working in the VA after they graduate and giving back to their fellow veterans. And other doctoral students witness the impact of this work firsthand and often seek positions where they can serve veterans and first responders after graduation.
鈥淲e want to give people their lives back,鈥� says Beidel. 鈥淭he trauma memory won鈥檛 go away, but it shouldn鈥檛 dictate every aspect of their life. And we will be here until no one else needs us.鈥�
Nominations for the Fall 2018 Marchioli Collective Impact Innovation Award are due September 21. This award goes to an individual or small team each fall and spring semester through 2019 for their innovative initiatives, programs or projects tied to the Collective Impact Strategic Plan that can be implemented across the university.