DE-CRUIT® Treating Trauma Through Shakespeare and Science

Recruited at a psychologically malleable age, young men and women are indoctrinated using a systematic process that “wires” them for war. But, there is no training to undo this indoctrination. Returning veterans are vulnerable to persistent and pervasive effects of traumatic stress largely due to the challenge of reintegrating into civilian life. Up to 68% of veterans drop out of clinical treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Veterans, on average, are 4-6 times more likely to be homeless, 2-3 times more likely to commit suicide, more likely to commit a violent crime, be addicted, receive harsher, longer prison sentences, and have PTSD rates which far exceed those of the general population. Over-reliance on pharmacological treatments, along with the isolation commonly experienced by returning veterans, is compounded by dominant treatment approaches which adopt an illness-focused model rather than focusing on sources of resilience within veterans’ various communities. 

DE-CRUIT® is an interdisciplinary program designed to help military veterans overcome the obstacles of transitioning from military service back into their communities. Countering the military’s intense indoctrination and training, as well as the extreme trauma so commonly experienced as part of military service, DE-CRUIT delivers: a safe, non-judgmental outlet for processing military-related trauma without focusing solely on the trauma or on an assumed pathology within the individual veteran. DE-CRUIT® uses routinized techniques derived from principles of classical actor training (e.g., experiential analysis, symbolic representation, and techniques of breathing and spoken verse) to transform military camaraderie into camaraderie among treatment group members to communalize the process of healing from the trauma of war. The DE-CRUIT® treatment protocol integrates state-of-the-art therapeutic techniques from cognitive science and narrative therapy within a regimen of nutrition, writing, and analyses of trauma as represented by numerous veteran characters in Shakespearian texts. Treatment group members learn to narrate their own stories of trauma through a strengths-based approach that fosters the development of life skills, self-efficacy, and post-traumatic growth.  

Stephan will discuss DE-CRUIT®, its steps and their latest data from the scientific evaluation, which shows the incredible efficacy of the program.