Medical professionals learn resiliency techniques for traumatic experiences

The Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center hosted the Medical Center of Excellence Traumatic Event Management Facilitator Course for medical professionals at the Phantom Forge Center, Oct. 26-30.

The course is designed primarily for mental health providers, unit ministry teams and other professionals who support individuals and teams following potentially traumatic events. The course is open to anyone interested in helping military units prepare for and respond to traumatic experiences.

For Maria Dano, a public health nurse with CRDAMC's Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, the course offered an opportunity to expand her knowledge of trauma response and learn strategies for managing potentially traumatic events.

“Not only does this help manage a potentially traumatic event in the moment, it also helps us prepare the formation for resilience and improve unit cohesion,” Dano said. “In this class, we do different scenarios that could potentially happen downrange.”

The course prepares participants to respond to events such as the death of a service member or witnessing a mass-casualty incident.

Michael Hagan, an MEDCoE instructor, said the course goes beyond immediate trauma response by teaching participants to establish procedures and prepare military leaders and units before an incident occurs.

“Our goal is to train mental health providers, occupational therapists and unit ministry teams on how to manage traumatic events,” said Hagan. “We teach them how to help unit commanders and first sergeants write a standard operating procedure for traumatic events, conduct consultations and needs assessments, and provide education and training before a bad thing happens.”

Through classroom instruction, hands-on exercises and realistic scenarios, participants learn to assess unit needs, implement preventive measures, provide individual and group support, and connect affected individuals with appropriate resources and referrals.

The training also emphasizes developing intervention plans and practicing response techniques to recognize and address the emotional and psychological effects of traumatic events. The course gives participants practical tools to help units navigate difficult experiences, promote psychological well-being and maintain readiness.

For CRDAMC social workers, the structured approach provides a framework for responding effectively when a traumatic event occurs.

“Ultimately, I think the structure and the programmatic part of the course will really aid me if there is a potentially traumatic event,” said Michelline Turnbow, a social worker with Soldier Mental Health Services at CRDAMC. “If anything happens, I can be there to respond to the call effectively and efficiently.”

The training also benefits Soldiers who may provide peer-level support and instruction within their formations, like Cpl. Rudy Billanueva, a mental health specialist with the 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division.

“Right now, I don't have Soldiers to teach this to, but when I do get them, I'm a lot more prepped,” said Billanueva. “It's very good to know. They won't see me experience it firsthand, but they will see me teach it.”

The course also gave Capt. Katie Trojanowski, an occupational therapist with the Holistic Health and Fitness, at Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, additional tools to complement the mental health resources already available in her units.

“As an occupational therapist, we help Soldiers develop mindfulness and resiliency, and it's mostly one on one,” said Trojanowski. “My goal was to gain this knowledge and be an extension of our mental health officers in our brigade.”

By bringing together medical professionals, mental health specialists, occupational therapists and unit ministry teams, the TEM Facilitator Course strengthens collaboration and builds a broader network of support for military formations.

Participants leave better equipped to help commanders respond to traumatic events, support affected Soldiers and foster resilience across their units.

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