Close your eyes, and journey home from trauma.

This study examines the question of meditation as a complementary treatment for PTSD and Anxiety symptoms, and recommends the most effective type of meditation to reduce these symptoms. Furthermore, the study concludes that meditation is effective in treating Veterans, and other populations whom suffer from these symptoms, and it can have positive effects on them. There is a review and evaluation of recent empirical research concerning open, focused, and transcendent meditation to determine if they are helpful in treating these symptoms. Included in this study is a review to determine whether the effectiveness of different meditation techniques on stress outcomes is similar or varied. A rigorous systematic review of meditation showed that the practice of regular meditation, resulted in reducing negative effects of stress and anxiety across a wide variety of diverse populations. The evidence presented in the study is useful for clinicians and clients in making decision about the best available options for treating PTSD and Anxiety. Meditation can be defined as a family of practices that train attention and awareness, usually with the objective of fostering psychological and spiritual well-being and maturity. Meditation does this by training and bringing mental processes under greater voluntary control, and directing them in beneficial ways. This control is used to cultivate specific mental qualities such as concentration and calm, and emotions such as joy, love, and compassion. Through greater awareness, a clearer understanding of oneself and one’s relationship to the world develops (Hofman, Grossman, & Hinton, 2011).

Dr. Martin has an exemplary clinical career working with the military and their families. For over twenty-five-years he has done private practice, directed and managed multiple outpatient programs in federal, state, and private health care settings. He has over 25 years of experience as a therapist and is currently in private practice in Aiea, HI, and lives with his Ohana in Mililani, HI. He is a cognitive behavioral therapist who has a specialty treating soldiers and their families dealing with stress related issues related to deployment(s). He also specializes in conflict management with adults, marital issues, chemical dependency, anxiety and trauma issues. Recognized as the NASW Hawaii Clinician of the Year in 2012, Dr. Martin specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy and trauma therapy as a treatment modality to help clients that are current or previous Military Service Members to deal with anxiety and/or depression. He believes that there are behaviors that can’t be controlled through rational thought, but emerge based on prior conditioning from the environment and other external and/or internal stimuli. He helps clients to be “problem focused” and “action oriented”. He helps them select specific strategies that can address their problems, and help them determine courses of action, and to achieve personal and professional goals by unlocking their full potential. He believes that “it is our thinking that causes us to feel and act the way we do”. Dr. Martin helps individuals, families, and couples in therapy view obstacles in their lives as opportunities, and believes they, ultimately, make the decision to change, or not in their lives. He helps them to recognize destructive patterns of thinking and reacting, and guides them to modify, or replace them. He believes that if we experience unwanted feelings and behaviors, we need to identify the thinking that is causing them, and learn how to replace this thinking with thoughts, that lead to outcomes that are more desirable. He emphasizes the clients inherent strengths, and empowers them to tap into them on their journey of healing.