"Training for Peace" with Shaun Lewis

Why is it that when service members are preparing for combat we call it "training", but we call efforts to transition back to living in peaceful environment "seeking help"? What if we reframed this approach... What if it was NOT "seeking help", but "training for peace"?

This week our host Dr. Sharon Bergquist sits down with Shaun Lewis, the Lead Veteran Outreach Coordinator for the Emory Healthcare Veterans program. Shaun is a 17-year Army Veteran, with three years Active Duty and 14, and counting, in the Army Reserve, including two overseas tours, one a combat tour in Iraq planning and conducting route clearance missions.Since 2014 Shaun has worked in Veteran services for education, career development, and healthcare.

Shaun and Dr. Bergquist talk about PTSD, its root cause, some of the surprising facts related to it, and the stigma that is still very present in the day. Shaun shares his personal experience, as well as the stories of some of the veterans he has worked with through Emory Healthcare Veterans Program.

“Healing Invisible Wounds” is the motto an the mission for The Emory Healthcare Veterans Program (EHVP), which is designed to treat conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), military sexual trauma (MST), anxiety, and depression related to past military service. Their highly skilled team of professionals is led by world-renowned Emory clinical psychologist Barbara Rothbaum, PhD, who has been working in the PTSD field since 1986 and pioneered virtual reality exposure (VRE) therapy to help Veterans and service members face their worst memories and move on with their lives. The team consists of specialists in several fields including psychiatry, neurology, neuropsychology and social work.

The Three Cores of EHVP are:

1. Psychological and psychiatric care


2. Traumatic brain injury and neurological care


3. Holistic integrative medicine for wellness

Clinical Service Offered:

• Trauma-focused therapy


• Medication


• Virtual reality exposure


• Cognitive rehabilitation therapy


• Family/relationship management skills


• Wellness Services Offered


• Sleep training


• Stress management skills


• Yoga


• Personal Training and Gym membership


• Nutrition education


• Acupuncture


• Massage

Other Services Offered

• Financial and career counseling


• Recreational activities e.g. Falcon Games, Festivals, Atlanta Botanical Garden, etc.


• GA Aquarium Immersion Program


• Veterans Affairs Liaison


• Veteran Resource guidance


• Opportunities to collaborate with other Veteran service organizations, including Team RWB, The Mission Continues, The Wounded Warrior Project, and others.

To learn more please visit:

Webpage: www.emoryhealthcare.org/veterans

The Emory Difference with Monica Pearson : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63f95_82xdk&index=3&list=PLwu47d4ufBLf-bs0ICRgYgHpci32UdAoG&t=0s

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmoryVeteransProgram/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EmoryVeterans

AJC article on one of our patients: https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/troubled-vet-reclaims-her-life-with-emory-help/yz1xtqk1WjWiZzXyLztf6M/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pukREJIDGQ

Spot we got on local news: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=actSO5mX5g8&list=PLUgtVJuOxfqnBAkElYgm0VFAQ5N775yCg&t=0s&index=26