Nearly 20 percent of the soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have acute Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. More than one million men and women have been deployed so far. Factoring in troops' family members, approximately 40 million Americans have already been directly impacted.

Coming Home is an innovative series of group workshops, retreats and support groups sponsored by Deep Streams Zen Institute that addresses the mental, emotional, spiritual and relationship problems of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families, using psychoanalytic, contemplative, and expressive approaches.

It invites veterans to join one another to share experiences and stories, struggles and breakthroughs in an atmosphere of mutual support, safety and trust; to learn new tools such as mindfulness meditation for reducing stress and anxiety and enhancing well-being; to improve communication and relationships; to use writing to express what cannot be spoken; to address a continuum of problems, including those that do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD; and to tend to the wounds of heart, mind, identity, spirit, and relationships that can shatter the foundation and meaning of our lives.

Coming Home begins on Friday evening, January 19 with a community meeting to raise awareness and appreciation for the impacts of service on the lives of veterans and families. Presenters will include Sharon Salzberg, Joanna Macy, Marine Col. Darcy Kauer, and others. It includes excerpts from recent films that convey what the war and its impacts on lives really are.

On December 3, we are offering a unique training, Healing the Trauma of War. The faculty has direct, "on the ground" experience. We are planning to form a cohort of psychotherapists interested in offering an hour a week of pro bono service.

For more information visit our web site at http://www.deepstreams.org/.

Joseph Bobrow, Ph.D.
Director, Deep Streams Institute