The Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum has donated 50 day passes to a VA mental health program that helps veterans recover from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The program is called Prolonged Exposure Therapy. Basically, veterans undergoing the treatment participate in activities that they have avoided because the activities remind them of the trauma they sustained in combat.
Repeated exposure to those situations reduces the effects of PTSD by helping veterans understand that those activities are no longer dangerous.
By visiting Patriots Point, veterans who served in the Navy and experienced trauma on board a warship or submarine will be able to come on board a similar vessel during peacetime. In addition, the Museum also offers Vietnam veterans an opportunity to spend time in a model Vietnam Naval Support Base.
Those who participate in the Prolonged Exposure Therapy at Patriots Point will visit the Museum up to three times a week. The treatment usually takes a few weeks to complete.
