Service Members and Care Partners

Service Members

Lone Survivor Foundation knows life after combat. Let us guide you through it.

Our Post-traumatic Growth Programs

Anger, trouble sleeping, chronic pain, lack of purpose, feeling like your brain has been ambushed…It’s common and there’s hope for a better future.  We were founded by a retired Navy SEAL and we understand where you are and where you want to be.  Lone Survivor Foundation is standing by to help with a no-cost, confidential Post-Traumatic Growth Program for you and your family.  A formal diagnosis or disability rating is not required..

Our Program is for service members (both active duty and veterans) from all military branches and service eras, along with their families, who are experiencing symptoms of the following as a result of combat:

Mouseover for definitions; click for self assessments

Our Program can provide relief, direction and hope to you and your family with a series of five-day Post-Traumatic Growth Program sessions that take place in our relaxing facilities in Crystal Beach, Texas and Fayetteville, North Carolina. There is no cost to you and we will take care of your travel expenses.

We will use tools not typically offered by government programs to focus on relief from the symptoms of invisible wounds and we will focus on helping you to restore your mind, body, and spirit. At the end of your session, we will help you decide which tools work the best for you and we will help you make a plan for continued healing once you get home.

Group

If you are a service member, veteran (or a SM’s friend/family) with an immediate crisis, please contact the Veteran Crisis Line at 800-273-8255, or text 838255 for help (24/7 responses), or visit www.veteranscrisisline.net. For our nationwide Resource List, click here.

VIRTUAL PROGRAMS

To continue serving our military community during this time, our team has created a PTSD Symptom Management Virtual Program. It is a no-cost program that takes place via video conferencing over three days. Groups of approximately nine veterans each will have the opportunity to practice tools for stress relief and improved self-regulation. Each participant will also have the opportunity to check in with a mental health clinician each day.

If you can’t commit to our three-day virtual program, we can schedule a 30-minute Counselor or Mindfulness Check-In with an LSF Clinician or Yoga Instructor:

Click Here to Learn More

The LSF Program Progression

“Family members are a crucial part of the daily life of a veteran.  You can take a veteran and heal him up, but if you send him back to a family that has not recovered, he’ll just regress.”

– Marcus Luttrell

Our Program includes a progressive series of three Post-traumatic Growth Program sessions.

The first session that you will attend will be for veterans and service members only.  At this session, we will work on education, coping skills, and symptom reduction through multiple therapeutic tools.  We will then help you create a plan for continued healing once you return home.

If you have a significant other, you may be invited back after approximately 6 to 18 months for a Couples’ Session.  During this session, we will provide education and tools for more effective communication and a deeper connection so that you can work together towards healing. We will also provide tools and guidance to help reduce Caregiver Stress.

If you have children living at home, you may be invited back for a third time for a Family Session.  The Family Session will take place approximately 6 – 18 months after the Couples’ Session.  This Session gives the children the opportunity to express their feelings and needs, and provides education for the whole family on how best to communicate and support each other. The goal is to form a more resilient bond between family members, allowing them to move forward together as a cohesive unit.

What to Expect

Our program is five days long.  You will typically travel in on a Thursday and travel home on a Monday.

You will be with a small group of 8 – 10 other participants who are dealing with the same issues that you are.  The session will be staffed with a small team of professionals and a veteran Team Leader that will provide individualized care that is customized to your needs.

Our facilities are large, specially-designed houses in Crystal Beach, Texas and Fayetteville, North Carolina.  They are both located in areas that take advantage of peaceful natural environments and they are designed to make you feel comfortable while encouraging comradery with the other participants. For Individual Sessions, you may be sharing a room with another veteran.  For Couples’ and Family Sessions, you and your significant other will have your own bedroom.

During your session, you can expect to spend each day rotating through a variety of different activities designed to introduce you to therapeutic tools that focus on renewing your mind, body, and spirit.  You will also have some free time and community time with the other participants.

Therapeutic Tools Used in Our Program

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)

ART reduces fear, panic, & distress without the need to tell the clinician about the trauma you are working through.  ART utilizes rapid eye movement (REM) while the participant is awake to control and direct the processing power the brain uses during the deepest phase of sleep.  For more information on ART, please visit www.acceleratedresolutiontherapy.com

ART

Trauma-Informed Yoga

Specially trained Trauma-informed Yoga practitioners teach mindful meditation and movement designed to provide relief from stress and physical pain while managing symptoms of PTSD and mild Traumatic Brain Injury.  For more information on trauma-informed yoga, visit www.veteransyogaproject.org.

Yoga

Education Classes

Each day of our sessions, we offer multiple interactive, discussion-oriented psych-ed groups focused on the needs of our participants.  Topics generally include things like post-traumatic stress and TBI, nutrition, HeartMath, chronic pain, battlefield acupuncture, and relationship topics for couple’s session.  We also take time to discuss available treatment options for each of those topics.

Group Ed

Alpha-Stim

Alpha-Stim is a Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation device (CES) that is FDA approved to treat anxiety, depression, insomnia, and pain. We provide an in-depth tutorial on the device and its application as well as instructional sessions on how to properly use the device.  Participants are encouraged to use the device throughout the weekend. For more information on Alpha-Stim, visit www.alpha-stim.com.

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Anchored - Christian-Ed (Optional)

During the program a Christian-Ed group entitled Anchored will be available. This is where you can explore the Christian faith as it pertains to self-development & spiritual growth. Everyone is welcome to attend this group no matter their religious beliefs and all diverse discussions are encouraged. This group is optional & an alternative will be available if you choose not to attend.

Christian Ed

Program Feedback

"For the first in 15 years, I feel like it's ok to finally live again. I owe it to this retreat! Thank you"

"I came to LSF in a very dark area of my life. I had reached out a few weeks prior to my primary resources only to be treated like I didn’t matter. I was at wit’s end. The symptoms I had been experiencing were all new, even though I had been dealing with PTSD for years. The new symptoms were more than I could handle but I hung on a few more days to reach out again for help. Thank God I was able to get relief from my symptoms through the LSF program. I felt as if I had been unstuck. I got what I needed to start moving forward again. From the bottom of my heart, thanks LSF and staff for what you do."

"I made more progress this weekend than I have made in the last 5 years of therapy."

"For the first time since my husband was shot, I truly believed he/we would be, not only ok, but great. Thank you."

"LSF has given our family a new lease on life. We have been given hope for the future, forgiven for the past, and have gained understanding. We are united as one and are now on our way to living a more fulfilled and positive life together!"

"There were things I had been experiencing since combat that I thought were only unique to me. It wasn’t until Lone Survivor Foundation that I found out that there were other veterans with the exact same things I had been experiencing. I am and will be forever grateful to Lone Survivor Foundation and its staff for everything they have done for me and for making me feel like I’m back home again."

"It has given me the quality time I needed to reconnect with my children, understand their concerns, and learn parenting skills I needed to be a better father and positive role model for them! I am forever grateful for people like you, that give back to disabled veterans reaching out for help to better their lives and the lives of their families."

"I do appreciate LSF and what you all do. I finally felt that I met people I could connect with during the retreat last year. And in my situation that is difficult to do."

"Life Changer, after this program I'm recharged and ready."

"This program saved my life, I had no other choices."

"I recommend this program to everyone, because if it worked for me, it can work for anyone."

"I was able to address a situation that has been bothering and haunting me for 9 years."

"Even after our session is over, throughout the day, things just come to you as 'ta-da moments'."

"There were many things revealed in each session. I appreciate being more connected with my wife and hearing what I can do to remain connected and communicating."

"I didn’t know what to expect, but I can sum it up easily. In the four days I was with LSF, I felt I made more breakthroughs and realizations about my disabilities than in the three years of therapy at the VA. I made friends and felt a camaraderie I haven’t felt in a long time. THIS PROGRAM WORKS and I hope it will help many other veterans like myself for years to come."

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