HEALING THE WARRIOR - ADMISSION OF 2 AMERICAN-INDIAN WAR-VETERAN COHORT GROUPS TO A SPECIALIZED INPATIENT PTSD UNIT

The American Lake VA Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Treatment P rogram provides intensive inpatient treatment for war-related PTSD and associated conditions. As part of a substantial outreach effort to Am erican Indians (Al) in the Northwest U.S., the program significantly m odified its admission criteria and treatment to be more clinically and culturally relevant. An all-Al cohort, and then a group that was 50% Al, were admitted. Highlighted are lessons learned regarding: treating ''traditional'' versus more ''assimilated'' Al veterans; culture-spec ific additions of building and utilizing a sweatlodge on the hospital grounds, hiring an Al spiritual leader as a clinical advisor, and prom oting attendance at weekend Pow-Wows; the relevance of the ''regular'' treatment components; and the need for regular debriefings about coun ter-transference dynamics among staff.